Surviving My Own Stupidity
by INNAantokako
Summary: *Undergoing Major Editing Ü* Follow Haruno Sakura's journey in the world of the rich but crazy students of Konoha Gakuen! She's friends with a noisy blonde, a tomboy and a shy heiress. Mainly SasuSaku w/ ShikaIno NaruHina NejiTen
1. My Name is Haruno Sakura

**Summary: Follow Haruno Sakura's journey in the world of rich but crazy students of Konoha Gakuen! Mainly SasuSaku with ShikaIno NaruHina NejiTen on the side!**

**Okay... ****First**** and foremost, this story is currently undergoing meticulous editing because I'm kind of not satisfied with its format. I don't know. Maybe it's the First Fic Syndrome (when you wite another fic and come across your first one, you seem to notice a lot of errors and such that you want to edit it thoroughly).**

**Fyi, this story had been written years ago and I'm still not finished. Ugh! It's so frustrating! The entire story's in my head but I when I'm in front of the blank document, I just can't find the words to write it.**

**Naruto will always be my number one favorite manga/animé and I'm quite unsatisfied with the way the manga is progressing so I kinda stopped reading at chapter who-knows-what. I'm just not happy with the way Masashi Kishimoto-san implies that Haruno Sakura is Uzumaki Naruto's. Duh. It's obvious how Sakura's still hung up on Sasuke. And besides, Hyuuga Hinata's such an amazing character that she deserves to be the future First Lady of the Future Hokage.**

**Standard DISC****LAIMER applied.**

**I present to you...**

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><p><strong>SURVIVING MY OWN STUPIDITY<strong>

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><p>Chapter 1<p>

**My Name is Haruno Sakura**

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><p>"HAHAHA! That is SO DARN FUNNY! HAHAHA!" A girl's high pitched voice dominated all the other noises inside the library.<p>

Everybody else had their own noisy conversations.

I fiddled with my eyeglass and sighed while putting my blue slug bookmark on the page of the book I was reading without really understanding anything AT ALL.

'_What a bother_.' I thought and checked the time: 10:58. Two minutes left before my lunch break. Thank God I'm finally getting out of this stupid place.

It's not that I hate the library. I ABSOLUTELY adore this place! It's just that… this is the only library I know that has student talking, eating, sleeping and NOT studying their lessons! Gosh! This is the library for Pete's sake! A sanctuary of knowledge! Not a classroom, or a canteen, or even a bedroom!

Now before you think I'm such a geek, I'll introduce myself. My name is Haruno Sakura, an orphaned scholar in one of the SUPER ELITE school in Tokyo, Konoha Gakuen.

Yes, I'm an orphan. My father died even before I was born and my mother died two years ago because of breast cancer. I don't have any distant relatives so I'm living alone in an apartment me and mother lived in since I can remember. Oh, and I work for myself. My current work is delivering milk and newspaper in the neighborhood early in the morning and I work as a waitress in a restaurant at night but during my day- offs every weekend, I work part time in a clinic near my apartment as a helper- slash- nurse- slash- assistant to the town doctor.

And yes, I'm a scholar. This school only has VERY FEW scholars. I think there's only two in this academic year. I'm the only one in our batch that survived two years of high school already. This school accepts scholars for different fields, like me for example; I'm an academic scholar that's required to have PERFECT GRADES in ALL SUBJECTS. Cruel eh? But I can do it, sice I'm pretty smart. Not that I'm bragging, it's the truth! Oh, I heard the other scholar has the sports scholarship and she (Yes, **SHE**. GIRLS ROCK!) must win every competition the school enters her in. She's a third year, if I'm not mistaken. I heard she's really athletic that nobody (even the boys) has ever beaten her in any competition. I've never got the chance to meet her because I'm too busy in the library while she's probably in the gym.

"Hellooooooooooo? Earth to Forehead? Did your brain malfunctioned because of all the lessons you're studying all in one time? Hellooooo?" My bestfriend, the blonde heiress of the Yamanaka Flower Boutiques, the biggest and most successful flower business in Japan, Yamanaka Ino, waved a hand in front of my face.

I blinked and raised a brow. " Why, Ino-pig, are you jealous 'coz I' can read ten books in a day while you can't even finish one in a week?" I retorted. Ino's really impatient when it comes to books. She hates how it proves her wrong.

She just rolled her eyes at me. "Really, Forehead? Come on. I'm starving like hell here."

"Alright, alright. Can't let the pig starve." I said and swung my body bag on my shoulder. I left the librarian's desk and slide my ID in the swipe machine for my time off.

Being the ONLY librarian in this school gave me so much benefits. First, I can borrow books ANY TIME I like. Second, I don't need to pay for the 100,000 Yen library card. And third, the 5,000 Yen monthly allowance is great. It has the most pay than my three jobs put together. Enough of my daily expenses. The school cafe's food cost too much that I just make myself a bento before going to school.

"Gosh, Sakura, I can't believe you're wearing that hideous eyeglass again!" Ino scolded while we're walking down on one of the many grand staircases in the school leading towards the café. "Where are the contact lenses I gave you?"

I sighed and unconsciously pushed my black thick-brimmed eyeglass up. "Stop picking on my eyeglasses, Pig. These are the first thing I bought when I received my first pay slip. About those contacts, I think I left them somewhere."

Ino rolled her clear blue eyes. "Really, Sakura, I'll make sure you won't have any excuses over those contacts ever again." She got her iPhone and dialed. "… Hey Anthony. Please get me a lifetime warranty of clear contact lenses. Deliver it to Sakura's apartment. No, I mean the contact lenses. Leave the contract in my room. Yes, immediately. Yes. Okay. Please tell Mom and Dad that I'll be with Sakura later so don't look for me. Yes. Thanks. Bye."

"Ino… You are such a…" I scowled in defeat. She is just too stubborn.

"Oh come on, Sakura. If you'll only let me, I would take care of all your expenses but you refuse to! That's what's bothering me. Others would grab this opportunity to have a friend help them financially but you won't! You'd rather be a working machine than be a financially supported girl by me." Ino scolded me, her expression unbelieving.

We entered the huge café and sat on our usual 4 person table. It was originally a greenhouse renovated to accommodate some of the students who doesn't want to go out of the school during lunch time and some who have tea time in the middle of their classes.

"How many times do I have to tell you? I don't want to take advantage of our friendship. I don't wanna be a gold digger. Besides, you ruining your image as an heiress to be with a poor girl like me is enough for my pride."

"Tss. Pride, pride. You can't eat pride, Sakura. Why can't you-"

I grinned. "Before you continue nagging me about my pride, I should clear something with you before you think I didn't notice such important things. I have work in the restaurant tonight so why did you tell your butler that we're gonna hang out huh? Got any plans?"

"Great, you got me. I just want to hang out in the La Italia for a while. I don't want to go straight home." She told me before giving the waiter her order for her lunch. She had her usual vegetable meal.

I roam my eyes around the café. There are only a few students eating here, as usual. Those rich brats would always go out the school to eat in restaurants and such. Ino told me she prefers to eat here because she loves the food cooked by the chef.

"Really huh... Don't worry. I'll reserve one table for you. Just don't cry by yourself, okay? I would totally ignore you and personally be the one to throw you out." I teased her while opening my bento.

When I heard her scoff, I smiled.

Ino's my first true friend ever (though she doesn't seem like it). I met her during my third week here. I was bullied by some upperclassmen because I wasn't wearing their really expensive uniform but Ino saw us and fought with the girls. She even gave me her old uniforms. Since then, she accompanied me everywhere and kept all the bullies away from me.

"Oh my, Sakura…" Her voice broke my reverie and I turned to look at her face. She looked shocked as she stares, wide eyed, at something- or probably someone- behind me.

"What is it, Ino?" I asked. Not planning to look at it since it's probably just another handsome guy. Ino's really obsessed with handsome guys.

Ino grinned at me. "It's the other scholar."

"Eh?" My brows raised and looked behind me where her finger was pointing. She's right. It's a brunette with two buns as her hairstyle. She's carrying a bento like I do, proud but tense and she's being followed by a shy looking blue haired girl. "You're right."

"Let's invite them here!" She exclaimed and sprinted excitedly towards the two girls.

I sighed. I'm gonna let her be since no one can stop her when she's all hyped up like this.

Hm. What're the assignments for tomorrow? First period, none. Second, none. Oh. Art class in third period! Geez, where the hell will I get a bock of granite that we'll use to build a miniature sculpture? Guess I'll have to ask Ino for another favor again. Sigh.

"Oi, Sakura? Your mind's malfunctioning again?" Ino's waving her hand in front of my face again. The two girls are beside her, looking at me curiously.

I rolled my eyes. "Geez, Ino. Why can't you let me be?"

Ino laughed and sat beside me. "Anyway, this is Tenten and Hinata."

I gave them a smile which they answered with a grin and a shy smile. "Nice to meet you two. I finally got to meet my co- scholar eh?"

"Ha ha. Right, finally! I was too busy in the gym to visit you in the library since those two are in different buildings far from each other." Tenten said and sat across me while Hinata's across Ino. "It's too much of a hassle."

"True." I chuckled.

And we chatted about our lives like best friends do.

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><p>End of Chapter 1<p>

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><p><strong>That's it. Too much information, right? I don't want Sakura to have any relative here because of my plans for the next chapters. Personally, in the manga, I believe Sakura's strong. She's just portrayed too much of a damsel in distress but if she puts her mind into it, BAM! She became Tsunade's ultimate apprentice: medical ninjutsu, perfect chakra control, and a genjutsu <strong>**expert. She's just too emotional.**

**I like making Sakura, Ino, Tenten and Hinata in one ****little posse. **** They're just so different. Sakura the ****serious ****girl, Ino's the confident girl, Tenten's the tomboyish girl and Hinata's the shy girl. Reminds me of my friends, we're all just so different and argues a lot but whenever we agree on something, it's the best!**

**K. See you next chapter!**

_**Review. Favorite. Follow.**_

inna


	2. And She Eats With Them…

**Short trivia about the author. I started this story when I was a sophomore in college so that was three years ago in late 2011 and I've already graduated. My major's English, by the way. I'm still looking for a teaching job right now (yes yes, I'm a teacher... and I like animé... but so what?).**

**My inspiration to this story is... all those stories about a poor girl in a rich world. Cliché, I know. But who doesn't like it? Hana Yori Dango, Ouran High School Host Club etc. etc. Goes to show that everybody has the capacity to be rich as long as you're hard working and has a goal to achieve. Even those who didn't finish their studies. Many dropouts are now ****billionaires**** and made a lot of things that contributed to our society today. They're just people who realized what they want to achieve earlier. But as a teacher, I encourage you to finish your studies, especially ****those**** who doesn't know what they want to do yet. Maybe in the few years before you graduate, you'll realize what you really want to do.**

**Okay, emotion overload. Ha ha!**

**Thanks kitten9322 for that short but wonderful review! It made me happy so this chapter's for you.**

**Standard DISCLAIMER applied.**

**I present to you...**

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><p><strong>SURVIVING MY OWN STUPIDITY<strong>

* * *

><p>Chapter 2<p>

**And She Eats With Them…**

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><p>It was there in the café, while eating with my two new friends, Hinata and Tenten and my best friend, Ino, where I met them.<p>

"Huh? Oh, Hinata- chan… Your cousin's coming this way." Tenten suddenly said while looking at my and Ino's back.

Hinata looked up from her food to behind our backs then sighed.

"Eh?" I look at my back and saw those familiar looking guys coming towards our table.

Everyone in the canteen is literally turning their heads around to look at them.

Hyuuga Neji, the one with the chestnut colored hair reaching his back but is ponytailed neatly, is obviously Hinata's cousin, aside from their surnames, they both have white irises. Hinata told us that he's in third year now.

There's also Nara Shikamaru, if I'm considered as the smartest girl in Konoha Gakuen then this guy's the smartest boy with his 200 IQ.

But the last one is the one who caught my attention the most. It's the first time I saw his handsome face on campus. His raven hair is like a chicken's butt but it looks really good on him and his onyx eyes can seem to hypnotize you to do what he wants. Even with the boy's uniform on- long sleeved white button up shirt with a black neck tie and gray slacks- he still looked like someone who came out of a magazine, sexy magazine to be exact.

I blinked. I must admit they're all gloriously handsome. I turned to Ino but instead of squealing like a crazy bird like she usually does whenever she sees handsome guys, she's looking down at her food and quietly eating.

Tenten scoffed. "These guys… everyone looks up to them because animosity aside, they have the looks and the brains and they're multibillionaires but they are still egotistical brats."

"Really huh." I mused. I turned to Ino again. She seems tense, I wonder why.

The three approached their table led by Hinata's cousin.

He stood beside Hinata and bowed.

I watched Hinata's face change. She's now composed with the straight back and all. It's like a whole new Hyuuga Hinata! There's an air of aristocracy around her.

"Hinata- sama, I'm terribly sorry for interrupting your meal but Hiashi- sama wants me to tell you to go straight home after your dismissal. Your car will arrive at exactly 3 o'clock. Please be at the entrance gate before then." He told her formally.

Hinata nodded. "I understand. I'll be there by 2:50. The coaches asked for all fighters. You should've told me there."

Oh, she mentioned a while ago that all Hyuugas are being trained in martial arts since childhood and Hinata- chan was one of the fighters the school sends out to compete with other schools.

Her cousin bowed again. "Hiashi- sama called me just now and told me to inform you immediately."

"Okay. Thank you for informing me, Neji- niisan." The Hyuuga heiress went back to her relaxed posture. "Have you eaten already? You can join us."

"We haven't yet…" He looked at the other two. Shikamaru just shrugged while the cool one turned away. Hinata's cousin must be asking for permission to the two. He turns back to Hinata. "We'll pas- "

"SAKURA- CHAAAAAN!" I heard a noisy voice coming from behind me.

Gosh, so this noisy idiot's with them too. Just my luck.

I sighed to myself as I saw the blonde son of the fourth Kouchou- sensei of this crazy school, Namikaze Minato, and stood beside the cool looking guy. "Naruto."

Naruto grinned at me. "How are you, Sakura- chan? I haven't seen you in a while!"

"Yeah. I intended to do that." I told him simply and continue eating my lunch.

Uzumaki Naruto is my second best friend here. Ino wanted to always be in my class but sometimes the school's decision is unchangeable and during those classes when I didn't have anyone to talk to but myself, this idiot approached me and offered to sit beside me. He said he was really amazed when I spoke with great fluency in English that even our teacher didn't understand what I was saying. You can say I've had an unwelcomed fan. He confessed at the last semester of first year which I politely turned down. I liked Naruto but not intimately.

"Aww, Sakura- chan. You're so cruel." I heard him say, then dragged a table and sat beside me. "Let's just eat here. I'm tired. Tsunade- baachan made me lift his GINORMOUS cabinet full of her unfinished paper works. I'll just reschedule our reservation at the restaurant tomorrow."

Senju Tsunade is Konoha Gakuen's fifth Kouchou- sensei. The ALWAYS drunk woman who looks like she's in her thirties but is actually in her fifties. Geez. She's the only Kouchou-sensei that I know who drinks sake in her office AT SCHOOL. But she's a loving person and an amazing leader so her 'hobby' is not really a problem.

"Hn. Whatever." The cool one sat beside Naruto. Neji sat beside Tenten and beside him is Shikamaru.

Everyone was too quiet as we eat that it was so awkward.

I sighed. '_Eerie_.'

"So, Ino! When will be your engagement party?" Naruto blurted out which earned a glare from the blonde woman.

I choked the omelet I was eating and look at Ino with wide eyes. "Y- You're engaged? With whom? How come I didn't know that?"

I watched Ino sigh and turn away. "It's not that important, Forehead. There's no need to fuss over it."

I furrowed my brows. She's avoiding the topic huh. I turn to Naruto. "Who's she engaged with, Naruto?"

Naruto raised his head from the food he's eating. "Huh? Oh, it's him. Nara Shikamaru."

I raised a brow. "Shikamaru?"

The 200 IQer must've caught the suspicion in my voice. "What?"

I frowned. "You didn't mention anything about your and Ino's engagement at the seminar last week! Even when we talked about her!"

Shikamaru and I can be considered as close friends now since we've been the representatives of the school in different seminars for two years and we've had conversations about our personal lives but really, their engagement was never mentioned.

He turned to me lazily. "We talked about her but we didn't talk about our engagement. You never did ask, Sakura."

"WHAT? That is not worth asking! That topic is meant to be shared. You understand that, huh? Geez. Sometimes you just don't care, Shikamaru." I told him as- a- matter- of- factly.

"Troublesome. Sometimes you care too much."

I frowned to that. "That's because Ino's my friend, duh."

"Hey hey. Calm down you two. Your participation in the next seminar might get affected by your fight- "

"We're not fighting, Naruto. I'm just telling him how concerned I am with my best friend's affairs. Ino's clueless at times and I'm worried about how her decisions affect her." I cut him off sharply and turn to Shikamaru. "You don't act as the top 1 in our batch's boys department."

The school shows the top fifteen students after every semester via LCD covering one whole wall that is also used as a bulletin board. It's also part of the scholarship that I must top those fifteen so there, I've been number one since last year when I entered this school.

Shikamaru chuckled at my tone. "And you don't really sound like you're the top 1 in the girl's department."

"Whatever."

"You're so childish for a genius." He commented.

"I'm not a genius. You are. I don't have a 200 IQ like you. I just like studying." I retorted.

"WHOA! Please stop talking! I can't take it when people starts to talk about studying!" Naruto yelled crazily.

_BLAG_!

His face fell flat on the table.

"Stop yelling, you idiot!" I shouted angrily.

Naruto raised his face and pouted. "But you're also yelling, Sakura- chan…"

I strangled him. "Ha! You still have the nerve to talk back huh?"

"AAAH! SAKURA- CHAN! Stop it! You're going to kill me!" Naruto begged.

I heard everyone laugh, even the ones that are not in our table.

I blushed and sat down with my fingers still pinching Naruto's cheek.

"Ow- ow- ow- ow- ow. Geez, Sakura- chan. You're becoming MORE violent every single day."

"It's because you're such an idiot."

I caught sight of Ino and she looked like she really wants to cry.

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><p>End of Chapter 2<p>

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><p><strong>Okay. Notice how this story is in Sakura's point of view? Well, so far I don't see the need to have another character's point of view. I'll just stick to Sakura's. She's the protagonist anyway. Feminist much? Ha ha.<strong>

**I like having Naruto and Sakura together AS BEST FRIENDS. It's so typical. The guy ****loves**** the girl who's still in ****love with another guy who has greater priorities in life. And yes, I do believe that a girl and a boy can never be just friends. At some point in time, one liked the other but realized it will always be unrequited. Geez. Anyway, back to Naruto and Sakura. They're those kind of characters who like each other but have a lot of complications for them to be together. And they're just so similar to be together. Opposites attract, that's the law. (What am I saying?)**

**Goodness.**

**K. See you next chapter!**

_**Review. Favorite. Follow.**_

inna


	3. Ino's Problem

**Chapter 3's up. This is a complicated one, I guess. I'm really bad at explaining details but I'm striving so good luck to me. I'm sure you've noticed that but it's all well. People have their own weaknesses, it's a matter of how they're going to overcome it.**

**Right now, this seems more of a ShikaIno fic than a SasuSaku one but I like the other pairings too and I don't want to give Sakura her happy ending yet. She have to work hard. It's still a long long long way to go for our dear protagonist.**

**kitten9322, thanks again for the review. I knew it. Ino's problem is too easy to figure out. Ha ha! **

**Standard DISCLAIMER applied.**

**I present to you...**

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><p><strong>SURVIVING MY OWN STUPIDITY<strong>

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><p>Chapter 3<p>

**Ino's Problem**

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><p>I yawned while sitting in front of the mirror and brushing my waist long hair with my eyelids drooping.<p>

That stupid Ino, staying at the restaurant for four hours (My duty starts from six in the evening to ten which is the closing time.) and then went to my house to chat ENDLESSLY. I only got two hours of sleep!

I found out that she really loves Shikamaru. She said they've been engaged since childhood and they were best friends. But when they grew up, they started to feel awkward with one other that they didn't talk as much as they had when they were kids.

Ino's suspicious that Shikamaru's in a relationship with Sabaku no Temari, one of the three children who owns Suna, a company that sell construction products like cement, gravel and such, a third year who's often seen with him these past few weeks.

Ino's bewildered but she couldn't do anything.

I feel like I'm going to be in charge of this matter from now on.

After brushing my hair, I put on my uniform: a long sleeved white button up shirt tucked inside a gray pleated skirt an inch above my knee. It's spring now so we don't have to wear our black coat.

I feel like I want to put my hair up so I tied it in a high ponytail. There, I looked neat.

I ate a mouthful of bread and drank straight from the milk carton.

I always wake up at four o'clock because I have milk and newspaper delivery work. No matter what time I sleep, my body just wakes up at four on its own! Like I have a built- in alarm clock inside my body!

I grabbed my bento and stepped out of my apartment where I saw a limo parked in front.

I shook my head when Ino went out of the car. It's a good thing she doesn't nag me in riding in her car to school anymore, I prefer walking so she decided to walk with me with her three bodyguards following us discreetly. By discreetly, I mean towering over us whenever a suspicious person walks up to us.

"Hey Forehead!" She exclaimed and ran towards me.

I eyed her face and rolled my eyes. "You know Ino, concealers doesn't really hide puffy eyes."

She just crossed her arms. "Whatever, Forehead."

"Seriously Pig, you look like a zombie. Get those concealers off your eyes." I told her.

"Fine!" Ino reached for a tissue in her bag and mumbled while wiping the concealers. "Ta Gueule. Casse-toi. C'est des conneries. Ca me fait chier. Je m'en fou.*"

I chuckled and starts walking. "Ino, I learned French when I was in middle school. So I understand all those profanities. And I'm not offended because I think French is a very sweet language."

Footsteps running were heard and she's suddenly beside me.

"Sakura, I'm paying your working hours for tonight and tomorrow night."

"What?" I turned to her.

Her serious tone is very disturbing.

Ino turned to me, her eyes piercing.

"We are going to stalk Shikamaru and that Sabaku girl!"

For the nth time, I sighed.

'_Ino, I swear, you'll be the death of me.'_

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><p>It was already dismissal and I'm taking my time putting my books in my bag since Ino's gonna wait for me at the parking lot. Our dismissal is at two o'clock and she told me if by two fifteen I'm still not there, she's gonna blow up my house.<p>

Crazy girl.

I walked outside my classroom towards the parking lot.

Geez. I bet Ino's just being paranoid. To me, it looks like Shikamaru loves her too. They're just being awkward. Oh, and that girl Temari. I wonder how she's Involved in this case. (Hi hi, case.) I doubt Shikamaru likes that girl, but Ino's instincts are often true. Hm…

_THUD_!

"Ouch…" I whispered to myself as I adjusted to the pain in my butt, not minding how I'm sitting since I wear cycling shorts underneath my skirt.

Well, guess what? I fell. With my butt. On the ground. This is what you get for not keeping your eyes on where you're walking and thinking at the same time. Lesson learned? Nah, I've been doing this for a while now. It's a natural occurence for a daydreamer like her.

"Sigh. I should look at where I'm going so I don't hit walls. I'm such an id- "

"Wall? Do I look like a wall to you?"

I yelped when the wall in front of me spoke.

I look up. It's the cool looking guy from the Konoha Gakuen's very own F4 which stands for the Faggot Four. KIDDING! They're my friends but I hate their guts. Too much ego.

He's looking down at me like I looked like an idiot. "Oh, sorry."

He held my elbow and helped me up. "Shikamaru's right. For a genius, you're pretty childish… and clumsy."

I blinked, adjusting my dislocated contact lens. "I'm sorry. I was just thinking about something. Sorry, uhm…" I still didn't know this guy's name.

"You didn't ask Naruto for my name?" He looked surprised.

The hell? This guy is so conceited! Well, maybe he has the right to be that way but still…

"Not really. All I hear him call you is teme. Would you prefer being addressed as such?" I smiled inwardly. '_In__ your face, brat_!'

He smirked. "Funny but no. I'm Uchiha Sasuke."

"Okay, nice to meet you. I'm- "

"Haruno Sakura. Everyone knows you, you know." He told me.

"Oh, is that so? Well, I'm going now. Ino's waiting for me. I'm really sorry. See you." I bowed and walked past him.

I'm not really that good in speaking with handsome guys. I'm easily distracted by their face. And that one surely is blessed.

I smiled to myself.

'_Well, he seems kind enough_."

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><p>It's our second night stalking Shikamaru.<p>

Well, turns out during our first night stalking that Shikamaru really waits for that girl Temmari after class. Then they went to a restaurant to eat. After that, Shikamaru took her to the main branch of the Nara Corporation, maker of expensive and original Japanese house products. And he took her to her family's mansion. That's all.

Ino didn't cry but she looked like she was going to.

But that doesn't look like dating to me.

Anyway, tonight it looks like those two are drinking. We're inside a really expensive sake house (Yes, we're inside. Ino insisted on drinking.) and Ino's already finished with her second bottle.

"Come on, Pig. Stop drinking, You're not used to drinking this kind of liquor." I grabbed the third bottle she opened. Ino's a drinker but not sake, she's more of a wine person.

"Forehead. Quit stopping me. I'm in the mood to drink. Can't you see that? Bakaaaa…" She laughed hysterically that everyone in the house looked at her. It's not that many. It's just me and her, Shikamaru and the girl and another big group of businessmen.

"You're such a pain, Ino. We should go now. Shikamaru already saw us." I whispered to her when I saw Shikamaru standing up.

"He did? That's good. Tell him to go here. I want to talk to him. Come on, come on." Ino told me tipsily and drank straight from the bottle.

Shikamaru grabbed the bottle. "You idiot! Why are you drinking? Do you want to be scolded by Inoichi- jiisan?"

Ino's shocked but she turned away and kept her mouth shut.

"You are so troublesome. Did you think I didn't know you were following me since last night, huh? What is your problem, Ino? You could've just asked me." He sat beside her and grabbed her shoulders to make her face him, only to find out she's crying uncontrollably.

"Ask you? How can I ask you… if you're always with that…" Ino narrowed her eyes at Temari and back to Shikamaru."…girl. Who's she? Your new fiancée? Why haven't I heard about this from Shikato- jiisan? He's.. always at our mansion… and…"

Ino couldn't continue as she sobbed quietly and Shikamaru pulled her to his chest where she instantly relaxed. "Troublesome woman. What are you talking about? Tousan asked me to tour this woman at our store. She wants to buy some products because she's going to have her family mansion reconstructed."

"Liar. If you were only touring her then why are you eating with her? You didn't have to- " Ino doesn't have the capability to talk anymore.

Shikamaru silenced her by crashing his lips against hers.

I smiled and looked up to Temari who rolled her eyes at the two but smiled back at her.

"We are not in a relationship. Geez. Why does everyone thinks so? I can't imagine living a life with a boyfriend as lazy as him." Temari complained and motioned for me to sit at her and Shikamaru's table since this two needs to talk.

I tapped the table before standing. "Don't do anything X- Rated, 'kay guys?"

I was ignored. They were making out... in a sake house... and forgot about their companions.

Goodness.

"Those two are a pain in a butt. Shikamaru asked me if I'd want to go on a date with him just to know if he really doesn't have any feelings for that girl." Temari chuckled while pouring sake in two cups.

I sat across her and accepted the cup she offered. "It's nice of you to do that, Temari- san."

"Nah. It's for them to stop this nonsense." She shrugged but I noticed a flicker of pain flash in her blue- green eyes.

Then I realized something. '_Oh.__Oh! Temari-__san likes Shikamaru.__ But it can't be. Shikamaru and Ino-pig loves each other_.'

And both of us looked out to the busy street outside the sake house, thinking of different things.

She, her pain because of the reconciling couple a few tables away from us and me, on how did I let myself be involved in this crazy affair.

* * *

><p>End of Chapter 3<p>

* * *

><p><strong>*<em>Shut up. Get lost. That's bullshit. You piss me off. I don't give a fuck.<em>**

**I've always wondered if who'll be with Shikamaru at the end of the manga. I prefer Ino (as you can see) but there's a high possibility that it will be Temari. Masashi Kishimoto- san has a weird way of pairing two characters. **

**Here are my Three Reasons Why I Don't Think ShikaTema Would Work: First, and the most obvious, Shikamaru lives in Konoha and Temari lives in Suna. LDR is hard even if they're shinobis. Two days travelling just to see each other? No! Second, they're just too similar. I told you opposites ****DO**** attract. Two similar people crashes negatively with one another. They're both too peaceful that it's so boring. And the third... because Shikamaru is for Ino. Duh. Their families have known each other for a long time. Their teamwork (with or without Chouji) is perfect. Shikamaru's too calm and Ino's too obnoxious. They're perfect!**

**Geez, sometimes I forget that this a SasuSaku fic.**

**K. See you next chapter!**

_**Review. Favorite. Follow.**_

inna


	4. The Hyuuga's Foundation Festival

**Okay, now let's focus more on Sasuke and Sakura's love story. This is step one in their relationship. As what the quote says, "Everything starts with a single step."**

**kitten9322, ohoho, so you're a fan of ShikaIno huh? I really like them too! They're so different and so perfect for each other! *giggles***

**Timber Wolf of Purity, ha ha! Thanks! I think Ino's awesome too. A lot of people hate her because she's too fan girly but I think if you look past that, she's amazing. Don't worry about Temari, she's strong. Hi hi. **

**Okay, so I watched this local romantic comedy movie earlier and something that the grandmother of the lead said amazed me and I was like "yeah... that's f*cking right".**

**The line was this: "You know, some people think that forever is not possible. Because most of them think that forever is perfect. But nothing's perfect, right? I was not a perfect wife to your grandpa and he was not a perfect husband. We just chose to believe in forever. Forever is giving one another unlimited chances to love you right everyday."**

**It's really sweet, right? And she have a point. Forever in love is not a state of eternity. It's a matter of accepting someone, with their good and bad, in your life and giving them your heart wholeheartedly without really caring if they will break it because you know that even if they do, it's worth it. They're worth it.**

**So my dear readers, believe in love and believe in forever.**

**Standard DISCLAIMER applied.**

**I present to you...**

* * *

><p><strong>SURVIVING MY OWN STUPIDITY<strong>

* * *

><p>Chapter 4<p>

**The Hyuuga's Foundation Festival**

* * *

><p>"Ne, Sakura- chan. Why don't you have a boyfriend?" Ino asked me as she waits for me in the library.<p>

I'm currently encoding the new books that arrived this morning. '_More books to read for me_!' She cheered inwardly.

"Ino…" I glared at her before continuing. "I don't have time to have a relationship. I'm having a hard time taking care of myself so I don't need another person to worry about, okay? And what's with the Sakura- CHAN? Just because you and Shikamaru are together now, you're changing your lifestyle? You want to change your stinking personality?"

She rolled her eyes, unmindful of my insult. "But being with someone can make you happy. You'll be less stressed. You won't look forty. You won't be sad. You won't- "

"Excuse me. I want to borrow this book." A deep, husky voice cut in.

I looked up from the monitor and saw his handsome face again. "Sasuke?"

He smirked. "Hn. What's with the look? I'm borrowing this book." He waved a thick Calculus book.

"'Kay. I need your library card." He handed it to me. "Be sure to return this in a week." I slide the card and gave it back to him along with the book.

"Hn. Thanks." He gave me a smirk before leaving.

Ino and I shared a weird look.

"OH MY GOSH FOREHEAD! UCHIHA SASUKE SMILED AT YOU!"

I forced a smile at her and noticed that the whole library is unusually quiet. I roam my eyes and saw everyone looking at me either with shocked or angry expressions. The group of girls who are always screeching about handsome boys and such were glaring daggers at me. They took the words, '_if looks could kill_' to another scary level.

"Ino…" I whispered at my oblivious best friend.

"Hm?" She turned to me from grinning at her phone.

I watched the girls inside the library narrow their eyes at me. "I don't think they like me being greeted by Sasuke."

Ino tapped the top of my head. "Sasuke's just a prominent figure here in Konoha Gakuen. He doesn't talk to anyone except us, his friends. We're the only ones who can put up with his attitude." She whipped her head towards the girls who're STILL glaring at me. "WHAT THE HELL IS YOUR PROBLEM? YOU WANNA FIGHT HUH? You're just pathetic low class people whom Sasuke doesn't even know exists! AND STOP LOOKING AT SAKURA!"

"He he he. Ino, calm down."

* * *

><p>The four of us sat on our usual table at lunch, each doing our own thing. I'm reading a pocketbook that our teacher asked us to read, Hinata- chan's seriously texting, Ino's giggling while talking to her BELOVED Shikamaru on her phone and Tenten's sharpening her kunais on the table. (Wait, was that even allowed in school?)<p>

"Mou! Otousan is such a nagger!"

All of us turned to the owner of that pissed voice, shocked.

Hinata- chan glared at her phone so out- of- characterly.

"Shika- kun… I'll call you later…" Ino put her cell phone down.

I smiled nervously, scared that Hinata- chan might snap at us or something and based from my experience, the quiet ones are usually the scary ones when mad. "W- What's wrong, Hinata- chan?"

She sighed and faced me. "Otousan keeps nagging me about the final touches in our compound. You see, it's our annual Hyuuga Foundation Festival tonight and he wants it to be more extravagant than last year. I already double- checked everything this morning and it's perfect! But he keeps on texting me like 'Are the decorations fixed?' or 'Are the foods all right?' and blah blah and blah blah and blah! Oh please! I'm doing everything I can to make it perfect and I can assure him that everything is ALREADY perfect!"

The three of us sweat dropped as we watch Hinata- chan pant after her STUTTER- FREE rant.

'_Note to self, never ever EVER make Hinata-__chan angry. She's really scary_.' I thought.

"It's okay, Hinata- chan. I'm sure Hyuuga- san is just afraid to disappoint his family and those people who're going to attend the festival so loosen up and let him worry. He's gonna be surprised when he arrive from England." Tenten comforted without looking up from her weapons.

"Tenten's right. I have an invitation and I'm going to take Sakura with me. I'm sure you invited Tenten so we'll all be there to support you. " Ino told her.

I smiled. "Yeah. We'll be there to suppo- Wait. WHAT? INO! Will you stop deciding for me?!"

* * *

><p>"I want that red kimono for Sakura- sama. No, not that one! The other one with the sakura leaves! Yes, that! And give me that dark green obi! Hurry up, will you? Ino- sama will be back any moment now!" Ino's personal wardrobe stylist ordered as the six maids worked on her diligently.<p>

I sighed.

Ino's such a pain in the ass.

My boss will probably fire me if she keeps on dragging me anywhere she likes and pays me with her own money.

_"Nah! Your boss will never do that. I told h__im__ that I'll supply h__is __restaurant with a few flowers every time she lets you go with me during work hours." Ino assured me._

_"And just how much does a 'few' stands for?" I asked curiously._

_She just raised a brow at me. "You don't wanna know, Forehead. Trust me. You don't."_

_"Oh. That much."_

"Sakura- sama. You may look at the mirror now. Tell us if you don't like anything at all and we'll do something about it." The stylist said as she stood up and pushed her towards the closet where the mirror covered one wall.

I turned to face the mirror and was mesmerized.

"I- Is this really me? I- I'm…"

"Gorgeous? Stunning? Lovely? I think all of those would describe you right now, Sakura- sama." Ino's stylist said and fixed her hair.

Now I DO believe in the power of cosmetics. The woman (yes, woman. I can't bring myself to call her a girl) in the mirror is staring at her with bright emerald eyes. Maybe it's the contact lenses that made it shine. Her hair was pulled into a messy bun by two sticks and a few glittery clips and let her bangs fall elegantly on her forehead. Her red kimono complimented her fair skin which she never knew she had and her green obi hugged her petite waist perfectly. All in all, the lady in the mirror is exquisitely beautiful.

"Wow…" was all I managed to say. I turn to Ino's stylist. "Thank you so much. This is more than I imagined. I never knew I could look as beautiful as this. Really, thank you."

She smiled sweetly. "You're welcome, my dear. You need to have a confidence in yourself. You are pretty in your own way."

I giggled. I like her already.

"Wow, Forehead. Who would've thought you'd look like this when you have a makeover." Ino said appreciatively while standing at the doorway with her hands on her hips, looking like a model.

I shook my head. "Me neither. Not that I can say that to you, you've always been the fashionista."

Ino… Well, she's Ino. She wore a lavender kimono with a lot of silk and her black obi has a silver strings attached to it. Her long hair was braided loosely and hung on her left shoulder. She held a small silver hand bag. I have to say, Ino really looks good in everything she wears.

"Huh. It's good you have your respects, Forehead."

"Whatever. How's Tenten? Was her torture too traumatic that she can't move?" I joked, knowing that Tenten's behind her, sulking.

Tenten hated makeovers as much as Ino hated books.

"Shut up, Sakura." Tenten appeared next to Ino, scowling. "I had fun. Can't you see?"

Tenten looked really girly and… so pretty. She had twin pigtails which looked a lot girlier than her usual twin buns hairstyle. She didn't have that much makeup on but her face looked radiant. Her pink kimono and maroon obi was simple but it made her look sweet and innocent.

"Ha ha. You look great, Tenten. It's nice to see you've accepted that girls wear girl's clothes." I retorted.

"Hmph."

"Geez. Stop driving each other crazy. Let's go. Hinata's probably waiting for us already." Ino pulled Tenten and I out of the room.

* * *

><p>"Ino- chan, Sakura- chan, Tenten- chan! Y- You all made it." Hinata-chan greeted us cheerfully at the top of the shrine that was part of the Hyuuga Estate.<p>

She wore a white kimono and blue obi like everyone else in the Hyuuga clan.

"Oh, come on, Hinata- chan. How shameful of you to think that we'll abandon you in times like this." I told her while roaming my eyes at the place. As Hinata- chan assured us yesterday, everything's perfect. The whole place is decorated with expensive decorations and daisies. "Wow, Hinata- chan. This place is really beautiful. You've gone all out huh."

"Thanks! Come on, I'll take you to the others. They've arrived earlier."Hinata walked towards one of the temples.

Ino look up from her phone. "Yep, Shika- kun's here already." She also looked around the place. "I have to say, Hinata- chan, I like the way you arranged the daisies. My assistant told me you wanted to arrange it yourself."

Hinata-chan smiled shyly. "Thanks. Yes, I didn't want to bother your workers so I asked mine to do the job. Tousan likes it when I work personally. Something about training for the future."

I turned to Tenten who's been quiet since we got here. She keeps looking around like she's searching for something… or someone. Hmmm. Suspicious. I smiled at Hinata- chan. "But why daisies?"

She smiled back. "Kaasan loves daisies and she doesn't like festivals so he makes sure she enjoys our foundation festival by using her favorite flowers."

"How sweet." Tenten mumbled.

Ino shot Hinata and me a meaningful glance before asking Tenten. "So, my dear friend, I've heard a few interesting rumors about you these days."

"Huh? Me? What about?"

"Oh, nothing important. Just about you and… Hyuuga Neji." Ino grinned.

We watched as Tenten flush a deep red and cough to TRY but unfortunately failed to regain her composure. " U- Uh, what about that guy? He's just my sparring partner."

"Sparring partner, eh? That's not what my _**very**_ reliable source told me." Ino wriggled her eyebrows.

"You know, Ino- pig. I think the word partner refers to something of, or I don't know, _**someone**_ very important." I shrugged indifferently.

Tenten narrowed her eyes at us for a long time. We stopped walking to interrogate her. And then she sighed.

"I give up. Whoever your very reliable source is, he's right." Tenten reached for something inside her kimono and revealed a necklace with an expensive looking ring as its pendant. "We've been together since last year. I didn't want to publicize our relationship since I know about the Hyuuga's strict rule about poor partners. I don't want to put Neji- kun in a difficult situation."

We all gaped at her, unprepared of her confession.

"Before you continue your story, I want to tell you that we're just messing with you. Right girls?" Ino grinned at Tenten.

"WHAT? You little piece of-"

"Aaaaah! Ruuuuuun! Ha ha ha!"

* * *

><p>I sighed as I made my way through the shabby trees. I'm sure I heard water somewhere here.<p>

Everyone's having fun at the festival.

Ino's making Shikamaru catch her three goldfish which she said stands for 'I love you' and he doesn't have any choice but to comply. It's not like he's not enjoying it. I saw him smile every time Ino nags him so I'm sure he's having fun as much as she does.

Tenten and Neji suddenly disappeared after all of us ate with the Hyuuga clan. I'm pretty sure they're busy making out in one of the temples here. The way they looked at each other made them uncomfortable to look at. They looked really in love and ready to go (if you know what I mean). I just hoped they finish high school first before the fire between them bears a fruit.

Naruto dragged Hinata along with him. He said Hinata should loosen up and that he's going to teach her the real meaning of fun. Everyone just rolled their eyes at that. It's pretty obvious Hinata likes him just from the way she blushes when he's around. Maybe she just needs some time to confess to him because it will take her a LIFETIME to wait if she waits for that dense Naruto- baka to realize his feelings.

I shook my head. Everyone's paired up. Not that I'm envious or something. Love is still at the far end of my list and I'm not planning on falling in love anytime soon.

Now that I mention it, I saw another single guy walk around earlier. Too bad Sasuke doesn't like company, moreover, a talkative one like me.

"Finally." I whispered, triumphant after seeing the wide lake in the middle of the sakura trees.

I spotted a huge rock beside the lake, a good place to sit and dip my sore feet in the warm water. Well, it looks warm.

After finally accomplishing my leisure plan, I smiled. "Aaaah. This is the life."

The full moon shone brightly above me and the silent splash of the water calmed me.

I closed my eyes.

"Kaasan…"

This was me and my mother's favorite pastime. Before she got sick, we would go to the river near her office every night to do this; watch the moon, listen to the crickets and share each other's secrets.

"Hey. What are you doing here?"

It was really silent there that I was startled to hear that deep voice behind me.

I jerked up and saw the smirking handsome face of none other than Uchiha Sasuke. "S- Sasuke! You scared me! What the hell are you doing, sneaking up on me like that?"

Sasuke just shrugged and fixed his dark blue kimono with the Uchiha symbol on the back and sat beside me on the rock. "Hn. You're noisy… AND annoying."

I eyed him suspiciously but he just stared at me nonchalantly. "Tss. I'm not gonna let you spoil my night, Uchiha Sasuke." I sat beside him and dip my feet in the water again.

We stayed like that for a while, quiet and calm.

"So what are you doing here, Sasuke?" I decided to talk to him to fill the awkward silence. I hate that.

"It's too crowded in there." He answered.

I looked down on the clear water. "Oh. Then why did you attend the festival? I bet you know the Hyuuga's Foundation Festival will be crowded." I asked him again.

He sighed. "You're annoying."

"Huh? Well, sor- ry. I just can't help asking if something's bothering me." I told him and looked at the stars.

"You're bothered by me coming here?" I heard him ask.

"What? No. No! Why should I? I mean, I was just curious. You're attending a festival but ends up being alone." I seem to say that to myself too. "I really don't understand people like that. Myself included. I'm like this in every festivals I attended. Instead of enjoying the event by trying those different games and eating, I find looking at the night sky more fun."

"Hn. You're a weird girl. Stop being so curious. It's not usually good." He said.

My eyes drifted to this stoic guy beside me. He's looking at me. I blushed and luckily, the moon's our only source of light. I smiled at him. "Being curious makes me learn so much about life. The feeling of being curious, it makes me happy."

He stared at the moon. Did his lips twitch? Is he smiling? Oh, he's not. "Well, let's leave it as that. There's no use changing someone's mind who's already happy."

I smiled at him before turning to also look at the moon. "You know, Sasuke? You're a nice guy to talk to. Except the 'you're annoying' thingy."

I heard him scoff at that.

And then we were enveloped by that silence again, quiet and calm.

But little did both of us know, there were three pair of eyes watching us.

Actually, glaring would be the right word.

* * *

><p>End of Chapter 4<p>

* * *

><p><strong>This is the longest chapter so far. I have to warn you guys- not that you don't notice it already- Sasuke's a bot OOC here. Well, this is AU. His family's alive and he didn't witness any massacre so it's all good. The Sasuke in the recent manga updates was really talkative. I think if his family weren't killed and all, he would be one cool guy who actually talks without snapping at someone.<strong>

**Anyway, this is the start of Sakura's Cinderella moments (being swept up of her feet by dear 'ol Prince Charming).**

**That's it. Continue the support!**

**K. See you next chapter!**

_**Review. Favorite. Follow.**_

inna


	5. How did it Turn Out Like This?

Sorry for the late update. There are just too many schoolwork given for the Christmas vacation.

Anyhoo, advance Merry Christmas to all! :"

Oh, and don't forget to drop some reviews. I REALLY NEED IT TO CONTINUE THIS FIC! ^-^

Standard DISCLAIMER applied.

* * *

><p><strong>SURVIVING MY OWN STUPIDITY<strong>

* * *

><p>Chapter 5<p>

**How did it Turn Out Like This?**

* * *

><p>"Geez Tenten. Don't make us godmothers at the age of sixteen, okay? Pleases. I'm begging you." I told Tenten as Hinata-chan and I watch Ino put concealers on the large bluish hickey at her neck pulse.<p>

She continued to blush and said nothing.

"Oh come on, Forehead, give Tenten a break. It's not her fault her boyfriend's hotness is too much for her control." Ino told me after finishing her "project". "There… PERFECT!"

I just shook my head at the two as I fixed my books on the shelf. These rich brats, I keep returning these books but they continue to get it from the shelf. And they weren't even reading it!

I'm tired. Sasuke and I got back to the festival an hour before it ended. Ino looked at us suspiciously but brush it off when Tenten and Neji also came, both looking flushed.

I heard Sasuke mutter beside me. "They both have an after sex glow." I asked him what that means but he just called me 'annoying' AGAIN.

And the out of nowhere, Naruto pulled me and challenged me to play with him in a weird game called "Whack-a-Kyuubi' and I bet you have an idea by just hearing its name.

Well, I beat him eight times so he had to date someone for a week. He told me "_I'm sure Hinata-chan will help me!" _and ran off to find Hinata-chan. She sure owes me BIG TIME.

Hinata was blushing while texting right now so I'm pretty sure everything's going to be fine.

I looked down on the last book in my hands. Hm. This book should be on the top shelf.

I looked around for my platform (I'm pretty tall with my 5'5" height. It's not my fault these shelves are HUMONGOUS.)

A guy was sitting on it while wriggling his eyebrows at me and grinning like a crazy dog.

Damn. I'd rather reach this myself than get it from that pervert.

I tiptoed and tried to put it back but it's still too high.

A little more…

Come on, Sakura…

SHANNARO!

"Owww." I whispered as I tiptoed my feet to its limit.

Then somebody grabbed the book and put it one the shelf effortlessly.

I turn around and met face to face with Sasuke's face. "You should ask for help."

"And you should stop sneaking up on me like that." I frowned. "I don't need some help and besides, I don't think anyone in this crazy school would help me."

He looked at me with an 'Are-you-stupid' look. "I just did, Sakura."

"Well, thanks a lot." I gave him an uber sweet smile completely opposite of what I really wanted to do: STRANGLE HIM!

"Hn." Sasuke turned and walked away.

"Ha. What a weirdo." I chuckled as I stare at his back.

Wow. Even while wearing our uniform, he can still look like a ramp model. Sigh. He has everything. Looks, money and intelligence. I wonder what he still wants to have.

"_**Stupid pathetic whore."**_

I looked at the two girls who passed by me. They're one off those girls who keeps squealing whenever a handsome guy is present, especially Sasuke.

"Nah, I went to Venice yesterday and I bought one of Gucci's limited edition bags. It's gorgeous I tell you!" One of the two girls laughed exaggeratedly.

"Oh my, I have to visit Venice soon. I also want to check Dolce and Gabbana's new items." The other one giggled TOO sweetly.

I shook my head. Must be my imagination.

I walked towards my three friends and didn't notice my phone ring for a new text message.

A text message that will start the upcoming nightmares that will ruin my already happy life.

* * *

><p>"Matte Sakura! What's wrong? Wait for us!" I heard Ino yell behind me as I sprinted towards my apartment.<p>

It was dismissal time and I was walking with Hinata-chan, Ino and Tenten outside the school when I remembered about my cellphone.

I look at the blinking red light on the side indicating the unopened messages.

6 text messages received.

Three from Naruto. He keeps on asking me if Hinata-chan says anything about their planned date and it's strange because she doesn't. I guess she wants to keep it to herself first before telling us.

I've sent Naruto a reply first before checking out the other messages.

Two messages from Lee-san. One of my unwelcomed fan. He became my lab partner before and from then on he keeps on sending me messages about the philosophy of the "power of youth" and how "it will bloom if I say yes to him". What a drag. Lee-san is pretty admirable and funny in some ways but sometimes he is just to irritating.

I sighed before opening the last message.

**TO: Haruno Sakura  
>FROM: Hanazawa Mikan<strong>

**MESSAGE: **_**Sakura-san, this is your landlady. I need to see you right now. We need to talk about your unpaid rent for three months. I got someone who can pay me regularly without delay so I suggest you pick up your things here. I already did the packing so don't worry. Just hurry up. The new border will be coming tonight. I'm sorry, my dear.**_

I clutched my phone and did what I had to do, run and confront my landlady.

"Sakura! Wait up!" Ino yelled.

I looked back at them. "Guys, don't worry! I can handle this on my own! I'll text you guys latewr so don't worry!"

I gave them a smile as they stopped before running full speed ahead.

What's happening? DAMN IT!

* * *

><p>"I'm really really really sorry, Sakura-san. I didn't want to do this but I need the money and you weren't able to give me the three months rent. I didn't want to do this but this is for the better." Mikan-san told me. Her usual cheerful self was nowhere to be found and the whole time we were talking, she wasn't able to meet my eyes.<p>

I kept my poker face and didn't say anything.

Mikan-san bowed in front of me. "Sakura-san, you and your mother helped me a lot before but if I don't do this, all our hard work will be turned into ashes."

"Turned into ashes? What do you mean by that?"

She raised her head and smiled sadly. She's crying. "I'm really really really sorry. After all the help you've given me, this is what I repay you. I can't say anything but I'm sorry."

Something's wrong here and I guess Mikan-san and possibly her apartment is at stake. I don't have the guts to make her feel guilty.

"I understand, Mikan-san. I know you're in some kind of trouble because of me but I have no idea what it is. Nevertheless, if I leaving your apartment would make things right for you then I better get going." I told her emotionlessly though inside I'm pissed off and want to punch somebody's face.

"Sakura-san, I'm so-"

"Thank you for everything, Mikan-san. I'm sorry I caused you so much trouble." I stood up and bowed at my _ex_-landlady before leaving her house.

It wasn't until I was out of her house that I notice a weird choking sound like someone's having trouble breathing.

I looked around. No one's here.

Then I felt something wet fell on my hand.

Raindrops?

I looked at the sky. It really is raining.

My hands moved to cover my face and oh… _oh… _

The choking sound came from my mouth. I was crying. Sobbing, actually.

I let it out and cried my heart out. I don't usually cry over things but for goodness' sake I was kicked out of the place I considered home for the seventeen years of my life.

All the happy memories, all the painful memories and all my mother's precious memories gone just like that.

I felt the rain fall heavier on me.

Ha. Even the sky cries with me.

"Okaasan… why is this happening to me?

* * *

><p>"Sorry, Sakura-san. There's no available room in here."The landlady told me.<p>

"What? But this is not a peak season, there are no borders in your dorm! You are the fourth one that told me that!" I yelled angrily. I'm losing my patience. There is something wrong here!

"I'm sorry miss but we really don't have any vacant room these days." The landlady's husband told me apologetically.

I forced myself to calm down. "Okay. Thank you."

I dragged my feet to the nearest alley and triedto limit the wetness of my clothes which is impossible because I've been walking in the rain since I left Mikan-san's apartment. I sat on a rugged-looking sofa. Hm. At least I'm comfortable.

I'm cold, my clothes and things are drenched and I have nowhere else to go since SOMEONE made sure I won't find any decent place to stay.

Tss. I guess I'm sruck here in this alley. I'm gonna be a beggar living in the streets. Well, I'll look at the bright side; at least I won't pay any rent. Ha ha! I'm so smart!

I sighed exasperatedly. "I'm crazy. I'm homeless. I'm poor. I'm HOPELESS."

"Huh. Yes you are, you _**stupid pathetic whore**_."

"Those words…" I looked up. "…it wasn't my imagination?"

The two girls who were chatting about Venice and stuff stood in front of me wearing expensive looking raincoats.

"No shit Sherlock." The daughter of a Yakuza boss rolled her eyes at me.

The other one, whom I think is the heiress of a flower company that is leveled waaaaaaaaaaay lower compared to the Yamanaka's, stared me down. "You are pretty stupid for the top one in the girls department in the sophomore division."

I stood up proudly despite my hideous appearance. "If I'm stupid then what do you call yourselves who are placed at the end of the list in the junior division, huh?"

"Ha! You have the nerve to say those things bitch." The flower company heiress grabbed my hair, looking pissed as hell at my question.

"Ayumi, stop messing with that filthy whore." The other one said seriously.

Wow. At least one of them is a wee bit kind.

"It's my little girl's job to mess with her."

"Huh?" was all that came out from my mouth.

As if on cue, three muscled woman (0.0) that looked like and probably was a professional wrestler entered the alleyway where we're in. Those muscles… are girls supposed to have those? AND THEY'RE CARRYING METAL STICKS!

I take it back. SHE IS NOT- IN ANY WAY- KIND!

I glared at all of them. "What is your problem? I don't remember doing anything that would make you act like little bitchy girls."

The yakuza girl narrowed her eyes at me, backs me up against the wall without any hint of restraint and grabbed my jaw tightly.

Damn. That's gonna leave a mark. Not that I'm worried `coz I'm not one hundred percent I'm gonna make it out alive after these bitches are done with me.

I should've taken up that judo classes Tenten recommended.

"I'm gonna give you a clue, Haruno. Two words… _**Uchiha Sasuke.**_"

My brows furrowed. '_What the hell are these girls talking about?'_ " Sasuke? How is he involved in this shit?"

The girls smirked. "We've been school mates with Sasuke-sama since middle school and NOT EVEN ONCE did he look at us."

I waited for them to talk again but when they didn't. "Uhm… that's it? What's that got to do with me?"

The heiress pulled my hair backwards. "Since he met you, his attention was diverted to your pink ass and me, Ami-chan and all of Sasuke-sama's admirers are threatened."

'_DAMN IT! Why do they keep on pulling my hair? WHAT'S THEIR PROBLEM WITH MY PINK HAIR?' _I screamed to myself.

"So…" I turned to this Ami bitch or she made me turn since she's still holding my jaw. "… we had an idea and it involves you, my little girls here and… _**death.**_"

My eyes widened at her words. They're going to kill me just because they're threatened that I might take Sasuke away from them. But Sasuke's not even mine!

They just smiled smugly at me.

"Geez. I guess it's too late now. Go on and kill me but one things for sure…" I smiled sweetly while I brought my face closer to Ami's."… Sasuke will never ever like girls like you guys. Cheap, pathetic, low class bitches who use their money to get something they can't have."

"WHY YOU BITCH!" Ayumi gave me a right hook on my left cheek.

I fell backwards. Shit. That one stings. This girl can punch. She must really pissed with me. Ha. But seriously, that hurts.

"Ouch. You guys are monsters." I told them. "Cheap and ugly monsters."

"We're going to kill you, YOU BIIIITCH!" The pathetic girl raised the metal stick.

I felt the pain and then black.

* * *

><p>"What the hell are you doing?" A deep voice snarled at them.<p>

The five of them stiffened and stopped hitting the Sakura's body on the cold floor.

Ami and Ayumi trembled at the man's cold glare. "Sasuke-sama… this is not what you think… We're saving her from these scary women…"

"Shut up." He snapped at them along with his infamous glare.

The two kept quiet as Sasuke walked towards Sakura's limp body.

Nobody saw the fondness in his eyes when he brushed away the bangs covering Sakura's bruised face.

His hands clenched 'til hi knuckles turned white.

He let out a deep breath to calm himself down before he could hurt anyone here, not that they didn't deserve it and carefully picked Sakura bridal; style and went past the five women, if they're worthy to be called as such.

"Sasuke-sama, wait! She's-"

He shot them an intensified glare. "You're lucky I'm worried sick about Sakura or else… I would've killed you all."

Ami and Ayumi held hands. " But Sasuke-sama! We love you!"

"Yes! We love you very much, Sasuke-sama!"

Sasuke tilted his head on the side and smirked mockingly.

"I will never ever like girls like you. Cheap, pathetic, low class bitches." He said before disappearing in the pouring rain.

The two girls fell on the ground, crying.

"They were the same… Sasuke-sama's words and Haruno's… they're the same… this is humiliating."

* * *

><p>End of Chapter 5<p>

* * *

><p>Author's note:<p>

Hey. Hoped you liked this chapter.

Don't forget to drop some reviews for me to have an inspiration to write.

:"3

Thank you!


	6. Meet the Uchihas

Hey there! Another update. Sorry it took so long to update. Hihihi.

Anyway, I'm here to make up.

Enjoy this latest chapter.

Oh, thank you **born to lose 7** and **xxadmbxx**for your wonderful reviews! I was motivated to write this chapter because of you! THANKS A LOT! This chapter's for you two! :"""""""

Standard DISCLAIMER applied.

* * *

><p><strong>SURVIVING MY OWN STUPIDITY<strong>

* * *

><p>Chapter 6<p>

**Meet the Uchihas**

* * *

><p>Uchiha Sasuke carried the battered and unconscious Sakura towards his room.<p>

He laid her down his king sized bed.

He looked at her for who-knows-how-long and sighed before turning to get his brother.

"Hey otouto." His brother, Uchiha Itachi, a renowned doctor specializing in orthopedics, entered the room carrying his medical kit."Who's this, Sasuke? This is the first time I saw you bring a girl home."

The younger Uchiha looked at the girl sleeping on his bed, still in her wet clothes and an expression of pain on her face. "She's my schoolmate. I saw her being beaten up by some low lives. Could you check up on her?"

"Of course." Itachi smiled meaningfully at him which he ignored. "Call the maids. I can't check up on her with her clothes like that."

"Yeah, sure." Sasuke went out of his room with his hand on his pocket.

He didn't see the smile that lingered on his brother's face while looking at him leave and to the sleeping girl who seems to catch his attention.

"Hm. This is interesting."

* * *

><p><em>I'm standing in this really really dark place.<em>

_I can't see anything and the air in here is really heavy._

_I tried to talk but no voice came out._

_I looked down on my lap for God-knows-how-long and I'm starting to get scared._

'_Somebody… please help me.' I pleaded as tears start to sting my eyes._

_Then a door opened and a white bright light entered._

_The light blinded me for a moment but when my eyes refocused, I looked at the room I was in._

_I realized I'm in my room in my apartment but the thing is everything is white._

_Then I saw a figure of a woman came in the door._

_Mom? It's my mom!_

_I tried calling out but still no voice came out that I started to run towards her but the more I ran, the more she became distant. It's as if the distance between us was far when in fact she was just a few steps away._

_My sight blurred as big fat teardrops fell continuously on my cheeks. I wiped it as I ran only to be replaced by warm and fresh ones._

_My mom smiled at me and opened her arms._

"_Mom!"_

**0-0-0-0-0**

"Mom…" I opened my eyes.

Huh? Where am I? My apartment's ceiling is not white and definitely not cemented.

I sat up. Huh? Whose t-shirt is this? It's really big for me that the sleeves actually passed down my elbows and its neckline is already on top of my chest.

I gaped at my arms. What's with all this bandages? I touched my cheeks, there's a plaster covering it. I also felt a sharp pain on my right side as I moved to get off this really wide bed.

"Owww…"

"You shouldn't move too much. You have two fractured ribs on your side and your body is full of severe bruises and cuts. But since I'm such an amazing doctor, I treated you and you're now as good as new." I turned to my side and saw a man smirking while putting down a thick book on the side table and sat properly on the couch beside the bed.

Uchiha Sasuke? No. This man's ,much older. His hair is ponytailed neatly and he looked really tired with those eye bags. Wait, eye bags? Hm. No, maybe not. But stil…

He started walking towards me and my hands automatically clutched the comforter and pulled it over my chest. "Uhm, may I ask who are you and where am I? I mean how I got here 'coz I'm supposed to be… at the…" I trailed of. Oh. OH! I remember now. I was beaten up by those pathetic rich brats. Geez.

The man smiled and sat on the edge of the bed. "My name's Uchiha Itachi. You can call me Itachi. You're at the Uchiha Manor's main house. I don't know how you got here but my brother seemed to be really worried about your welfare."

"Your brother?"

"So you're finally awake." A familiar voice came from another door.

I turned and saw Sasuke… without a shirt on, only black pajama pants and holding a towel on his head. Beads of water slide down his torso. OH. . How did he hide those muscles in our uniform? HOW? I can't believe this. He looked like a male supermodel. Heck, he's Japan's very own Adonis. Hamanahamanahamana.

I blinked and tried real hard to make my eyes stay on his face before he notice that I'm drooling over his muscular and sexy and gorgeous and… I shook my head. " Itachi-san said that you brought me here."

He shrugged. "Aa."

I stared at him. Was that a yes? But as I stared at him, my already sinful eyes dropped down his waist. Oooh. "U-uh. Thank you so much. I owe you big time."

"Hn."

An awkward silence filled the room…

"SO! Miss Haruno… I had my assistant check up on your background status and I found out that you were just recently kicked out-sorry for the word-of your apartment for seventeen years and you currently have nowhere else to stay." Uchiha Itachi told me.

"Uh. Yes, that's right." I admitted seeing how lying would not help me in this situation and these guys are not the bad guys. Those filthy _**bitches**_ are.

I looked up at him and he's smiling meaningfully. I don't have any idea where this is going but I'm pretty sure I wouldn't like it one bit.

Sasuke's looking away when I turned to him.

"So…" Itachi-san cough to get my attention. "…do you want to stay here? You don't need to pay any rent and everything's provided. Food, shelter, pretty much everything that a girl like you needs."

"W-What?" I looked at him like he grew another head. I collected what's left of my sanity and fixed my question. It's not polite to keep stuttering like an idiot if my welfare is at stake here. "I mean why are you doing this for me? You don't know me. I'm just Sasuke's classmate and-

He smiled again that made me stop talking and gawk at him. Ooh, that irresistible smile of his makes me want to scream 'YES!' "As expected from Konoha Gakuen's academic scholar, you saw through me. Well, our family wants a girl to be a part of our family. Mom and Dad are too old-don't tell them I said that, 'kay?-" I nodded. "Good. Baby making is definitely impossible. Adopting is one option but they want Sasuke and me to get married and bring our wives here so they'll have a daughter. I think you're perfect for the part and when they find out that Sasuke here brought you here and you have no where else to go, I'm sure they won't let you go."

"I-I don't know…" I looked up to Sasuke again, pleading.

He just stared back at me then sighed. "You should do what he says, he doesn't bite and I don't mind."

"B-But…" Damn. How did I end up in this kind of situation? I made my Ino, Hinata-chan and Tenten worried. They'll probably kill me once I told them what had happened. I sighed. Stay here for free? Hm. Maybe I should ask them to make me work but what kind of work? Hm. Maybe I should decline, but where am I going to stay? My salary in delivering milk and newspapers are not enough, so is the restaurant's pay. What should I do? What should I do? Okay. Calm down, Sakura. Calm dow-

Itachi-san tap on my shoulder ended my trance. He smiled that irresistible smile again. " Don't worry, Miss Haruno. You'll be okay. It would be more convenient for you and otouto since you both go to the same school."

The realization hit me. "Sasuke's fangirls are totally gonna skin me alive if they knew that I'm living with him. I was beaten up just because they saw me hanging out with him at the Hyuuga Foundation Festival and now-"

"That's the reason you got beaten up? Because of me?" Sasuke's voice raised a little, startling me. His face is in a total frown; his brows furrowed and his mouth pulled down.

"Y-Yes, they cornered me and those muscled women who looked like wrestlers they're with started to punch me and kick me. I thought I felt a metal stick…" I trailed off, thinking about the scary experience.

"So that's where those long bruises came from." Itachi-san turn to his brother. "This is somewhat your fault, otouto. Those fangirls of yours are really aggressive. You should control them. Look at my fangirls, they're all so adorable." Sasuke glared at him. "He he. Anyway, that more of a reason for you to accept our offer. Let Sasuke here atone for his crazy fangirls mistake in ruining your pretty face and body."

I flushed. "W-What? Wait! I-Umpf!" Sasuke threw the towel he's holding on my face. "What was that for?"

His face returned being expressionless. "You're gonna stay here. I don't need your approval. That girl's room that my parents and my brother here designed will be of use now. Your things will be settled there once it dries. Rest now. Aniki, you should leave. She can't rest if you're there watching her. I'm gonna tell Mom and Dad, I'll be right back." Sasuke said before he walked out of the room, leaving me and his brother speechless.

"Wow. An angry Sasuke is scary." I mumbled.

Itachi-san chuckled, a strange glint of amusement in his eyes as he stared at the door where Sasuke went out. "That's the first time I ever heard _and_ seen him turn his overprotective side to a female other than our mom. You must really someone important to him"

I lay on the bed, my back facing him. I couldn't let him see the blush that crept up my face at that statement. "I really have a bad feeling about this."

* * *

><p>I woke up from dreamland and saw that it's already night time, the windows on my right showed that.<p>

The only light in the room are the lampshades placed on top of the side tables on either side of the bed.

I sighed and stood up. My body doesn't hurt that much anymore though I feel sore in every inch of my body.

Deciding that waiting here would let me nowhere, I walked towards the door where I saw Sasuke went out a while ago.

I looked both ways before stepping out of the room.

I gasped as my feet sank on the hallway's gold carpet. It's tickling my bare feet.

I looked around again, no sign of anyone.

Almost all of the furniture here have the Uchiha symbol engraved on it. Even the picture frames!

I was going to look at the picture frames when I heard a door closing.

The sound came from another hallway adjacent to the hallway where I'm in.

Should I go there?

I glanced at the room where I came from. Huh? Where's the room? Why was it replaced with a wall? And why are there many doors there? I didn't see those when I passed there! WHY CAN'T I REMEMBER?

I gulped. This is it. I'm lost. I need to go to that hallway where I heard a door closing.

I half ran to get there. It seemed like the hallways here are going to eat me alive.

So, I'm here now and another problem comes up. Which one of these doors has people in it?

I walked slowly and listened on each of the doors.

But on my fourth door, I heard muffled noises at the last door in the hallway. The Uchihas must be there. I must not eavesdrop. But isn't it proper courtesy to greet the owner of the house you're currently in? Ah, you're so smart Haruno Sakura.

Quietly, I tiptoed towards the room and saw that the door was slightly ajar.

I peeped into the space and narrowed my eyes. The people inside are blurred then I realized that the contact lenses I was wearing earlier are no longer present neither are my glasses.

From the silhouettes that I'm seeing, there are two people (I'm positive they're men.) inside who are standing and talking lowly.

Tsk. I must go back to Sasuke's room before someone catch me eavesdropping.

I turn around…

"You must be the girl that my three boys are talking about." I met face to face with the gorgeous wife of Uchiha Fugaku, Uchiha Mikoto, the woman behind the chain of hotels and resorts under the Uchiha Corporation. She's wearing a white office attire which complimented her long raven hair. She looked like a supermodel in an office attire.

"U-Uh, I'm Haruno Sakura. Sasuke's schoolmate. Nice to meet you, ma'am." I bowed and saw that I was wearing a blue boxer underneath this huge black shirt.

Heat crept up my neck to my cheeks. I AM WEARING UCHIHA SASUKE'S BOXER! This is so embarrassing…

My internal turmoil was cut off by a laugh from the woman in front of me. "You're so sweet, Sakura-chan. Anyway, I'm Uchiha Mikoto, those naughty boys' mother. I preferred to be called Mikoto by my family members." Mikoto-san smiled kindly at me.

'_Family member? That's…"_

"Thank you, Mikoto-san." I also gave her a smile.

I felt uncomfortable at her serious gaze as she looks at me. It seems to me that she's taking mental note of all my bruises and she looked scary. Scarier than Sasuke's. Seriously.

I watched her expression change instantly and grinned at me. "Now, now, let's go in. I'm going to introduce you to my dear sweet husband. They're all probably waiting for us, well, me actually."

She pulled my wrist and barge into the room, making the three men inside gawk at their sudden entrance.

"Mikoto…" A man stting in front of a mahogany office desk called out. Neither Sasuke nor Itachi-san looked like him. He looked strict and scary. And a snob. Did I already say scary?

Mikoto-san let go of me, leaving me standing awkwardly in the middle of the room while she walked graciously towards her husband and gave him a peck on the cheek. "I missed you today, Fugaku."

"So did I, Mikoto. But you're here now, that's all that matters."

Sasuke and Itachi-san both rolled their eyes at their parent's public display of affection.

I caught Sasuke's eyes and he walked towards me, grabbing my hand and made me sit on the chair in front of his father's desk. "Sit. You look like an idiot standing there."

I frowned at his comment and looked at our still intertwined hands. '_What a rude guy… but a sweet one as well.'_ She smiled to herself.

I felt his hand tighten. "Are you still hurt?"

I looked up to his face and saw that he's looking away and BLUSHING! I smiled sheepishly. "I'm fine. I felt so much better when I slept. Thanks to Itachi-san and you."

"Hn." He shrugged and turns to his family.

All the while left me wondering if he's not aware that he's still holding my hand but he wouldn't be gripping it if he did not know it.

I gripped his hand back and blushed.

I also looked at the three other Uchihas and they were all grinning like idiots.

Sasuke glared at them.

Itachi-san laughed. "I told you, tousan! Sasuke acts differently with this girl."

"Hn. I can see that." Fugaku-san nodded and smirked at my confused expression. "You see, my dear, Itachi here informed me about the events inside Sasuke's room earlier. I couldn't believe it at first since Sasuke never did like the girls that we arranged for him to marry so my older son is thrilled to know that you're an exemption to his irritation to the opposite sex."

"Nah, I'm no exception. He calls me annoying _**all the time**_.In fact, I don't think his irritation limits to the opposite sex only. He loathes all human being." I informed them wile waving my hand sideward.

Hearty laughs filled the study as the Uchihas laughed at the younger Uchiha who seemed to find nothing funny about my statement and preferred to squeeze my hand gently.

"But… I wasn't joking." I murmured and Sasuke shot me a ruthless glare.

"Ah, Sasu-chan. You should be ashamed of yourself. It's not nice if your wife thinks that way about you." Mikoto-san scolded her younger son.

'_Ah?_' I gaped at her. '_W-W-W-W-W-W-Wife?_' "U-Uhm, Mikoto-san, there seems to be a misunderstanding here. Sasuke and I are just schoolmates. No more, no less."

Mikoto-san shook her head at me while ignoring Sasuke's glare whether about me being misunderstood as his wife or the nickname his mother called him, that I don't know. " Naw, Sakura-chan. It has been our family's vow that they are not allowed to bring a girl home unless they're willing to marry her."

I looked up to Sasuke (again) and saw him turning away. "B-But…"

"And besides, we all want to have a girl in this lonely mansion; they always pick on me just because I'm a girl. Can you stand it if I'm being picked on by these ruthless men?" She asked me while wiping tears from her obsidian eyes, looking so pitiful.

I didn't see the She's-lying-she-is-our –boss-here-and-she's-cruel look of the three male Uchiha.

"Mikoto-san…" I stood up and let go of Sasuke's hand to hug the only girl the Uchiha family.

"Sakura-chan?"

"Alright! I'm going to stay here! I won't let you get bullied by these guys! I'll protect you no matter what!" I cried while hugging her. _THESE GUYS! HOW CAN THEY PICK ON THIS BEAUTIFUL WOMAN!_ " They're gonna pay for that, Mikoto-san! Just because we're women doesn't mean they can pick on us! We'll have our revenge!"

"Ah, Sakura-chan! Thank you so much! Thank you so much. We'll make them pay for all the bullying they've done to me. I'm glad you're on my side!" Mikoto-san also cried and pats my head. "You don't know how happy I am today. After your fully healed, we're gonna go to a spa to relax! And then we're going to shop for clothes! And then we're going to buy some make-up! And then we're going to have our hairs done! And then-"

"Kaasan, before you do that. Let's make sure Sakura-chan here is already feeling better. And I think she isn't now because of all these things happening to her." Itachi-san tapped her and Mikoto-san's shoulder before facing her and mess up her hair. "Welcome to the family, Sakura-chan. From now on, call me Itachi_-__**niisan**_, okay?"

I nodded, speechless.

Fugaku-san coughed, wanting everyone's attention. "I called Tsunade earlier and asked for a background check. I admit I'm surprised. An academic scholar like you has all my respect. You work for yourself and still got top grades? That's amazing. Much amazing than these two brats who are always top 2."

I blushed. "To be complimented by Fugaku-san is really an honor for me. It's my dream to enter Konoha Gakuen no matter how spoiled everyone is in there. I need to work hard and do my best. I want this so much that I'll definitely work for it."

Silence filled the study.

I watched everyone smile at me. From Fugaku-san's proud smile, Mikoto-san's sweet smile, Itachi-niisan's irresistible smile… and Sasuke's mischievous smirk.

I returned their smile with the best smile I ever had. All the happiness I'm feeling and the feeling of belongingness in a family, I want to thank them through this smile.

"Oi. Stop smiling like an idiot." Sasuke suddenly grabbed my hand again, feeling the warmth that was missing when I let go of his hand earlier. "You need to rest and eat. You're still healing and staying up late is not good for your health. I asked the maids to prepare a meal for us in your room so let's go."

I was dragged by him before I got the chance to say goodbye and goodnight to his family.

* * *

><p>"Mmm! This is so good, Sasuke!" I exclaimed happily as I took a bite on this beef strips. I rarely had beef before because it's too expensive and this beef's taste screams TASTY, DELICIOUS, YUMMY, and DELIGHTFUL in every bite!<p>

Sasuke just continue eating quietly across me.

We're on the balcony connected to my room. Let me tell you, this balcony is like a mini garden with all the flowers and this mini lanai is superb! Sasuke made the maids prepare our late dinner here and the ambiance and the night breeze is perfect like the two of us are in a date.

'_WHAT ARE YOU THINKING ABOUT, SAKURA? The Uchihas are nice enough to let you stay in their __**mansion **__and here you are thinking about a date with Uchiha Sasuke! Idiot! Idiot! Idiot!' I mentally slapped myself._

My room, where Sasuke and me are, is a really wide (bigger than my apartment) and really white with pink frills and ribbons and stuffed toys in every corner. Personally, I think it's… PERFECT! I love everything! The frills and the ribbons are definitely my type! The stuffed toys here are SOOOOOOO CUTE!

Well, I never had the chance to own such toys because my mom doesn't like luxury and she considers toys as a sinful luxury for poor children. I am such a pitiful child but I'm happy my mom raised me like that because even now, when I'm able to at least afford those things, I never did buy. It's more practical to buy food to eat than toys to play with, right?

"Oi, what's the matter?" I felt something poke my forehead.

I glared at Sasuke and at the handle of the spoon that he used to poke my forehead. "It's nothing. I just remembered something."

He smirked at me and I felt my heart fluttered unsteadily.

I looked down and found that looking at my food is more proper than looking at Sasuke's sinfully handsome face.

Another silence.

"Ne, Sasuke…"

"Hm?"

"Why are you doing this?" I saw Sasuke stiffen and though I'm not looking at him, I can see him stare at me intently. This question has been bothering me since we got out of the study where his family was. I refused to meet his gaze and kept on talking. " I mean it's not like I'm not thankful because you saved my life from _**those**_… but Itachi-sa- I mean –_**niisan**_ and Mikoto-san said that this isn't like you so yeah… I'm just curious." I told him while munching on a pickle.

He held my curios gaze with an emotionless one of his. He put down his ceramic chopsticks and crossed his arms against his chest. "You want to know why I saved you?"

"Uh… yeah?"

Sasuke smirked. "I saved you because I owed you for making the Hyuuga Foundation Festival a little less boring for me."

I gawked at him. "WHAT? That's it? That's your reason for saving my life? What the he-"

"… and it made me angry to see you get beaten up by those pathetic excuses of a woman." He added _very _seriously.

That shut me up. My head is in spirals. Uchiha Sasuke? Angry because I was beaten up? He was worried about me? I can't believe this.

I stared at his deep onyx pools. There was some emotion there that I couldn't recognize but at the same time familiar. It made my heart sped up. I felt heat on my cheeks and I looked down and focused on what I was eating. "U-Uh. T-Thanks, _Sasuke-kun_."

I saw him shot a surprised look at me.

I smiled sheepishly. "Is it okay if I called you that? It seems fit if I'm going to live here, right? He he."

'_Pathetic excuse, Sakura! Sasuke-kun's going to think you're such a stupid little fangirl! Geez. Way to go!' _I scolded myself for looking like an idiot in front of this uber hot hunk.

I heard him scoff.

I looked up and he's trying hard to hide his laughter.

My eyes narrowed at him. "What is so funny_,__** UCHIHA?**_"

He chuckled at me and reached his hand out to caress my cheek. "Hn. I never thought that someone as annoying as you can be cute."

"WHAT THE HELL!" I jerked out of my seat and rushed inside the bathroom.

I locked the door and sat against it, pressing my hand against my chest where my heart beats in an unbelievable pace.

Damn that Sasuke… Oh my gosh. What is this feeling? I can't possibly be falling for that hunkable hunk?

* * *

><p>Outside the bathroom door, Uchiha Sasuke also leaned against it with his eyes closed and his arms crossed.<p>

"Cute." He smirked and returned to the lanai on the balcony.

* * *

><p>End of Chapter 6<p>

* * *

><p>Author's note:<p>

I know. It's not the best chapter but hey. I like it and I hope you do too. :"""""

Please drop some reviews for my inspiration to write… PLEASE? 3

:"3

Thanks a lot! :*


	7. Getting To Know Each Other

Well here it is, after a year I finally had the chance to update. I'm so so so so so so sorry. I'm just too busy but I guess I can update more these days since I only have 4 subjects to take and I have lots of time. Yay me! ^^

Anyways, I hope you enjoy this chapter. Let's go SasuSaku!

Standard DISCLAIMER applied.

* * *

><p><strong>SURVIVING MY OWN STUPIDITY<strong>

* * *

><p>Chapter 7<p>

**Getting to Know Each Other**

* * *

><p>Haruno Sakura tiptoed outside the quiet Uchiha mansion's hallways.<p>

This huge mansion is like a maze. I can't find my way out and I really need to get out now or else-

"Are you trying to escape, Haruno Sakura?"

I stiffened at that voice. I put on my sweetest smile and turn to the owner of that voice.

The Uchiha Mansion's housekeeper looked at me from head to toe with scrutinizing eyes and walked around me. "You don't look like you're gonna escape with your clothes and your things aren't with you so may I ask where you are going, Sakura-sama?"

I gave my smile that can make me get away with anything.

She didn't budge and gave me a look that says 'I'm asking you something. Answer it, DAMN IT!'

I sighed, knowing I won't get away that easy from this housekeeper. "I'm going to work, ma'am."

"Work? Why are you going to work? The Uchihas aren't going to make you pay anything while you're staying here and they told me to give you whatever you need." Her scrutinizing gaze didn't alter a bit while she's talking.

"But… I don't want to be a burden to Mikoto-san and the others. They've helped me a lot by letting me live here in their mansion and I want to help myself and earn money so that when I need some money, I won't have to ask Mikoto-san for it." While talking, I suddenly found the mansion's gold carpet interesting.

An eerie silence took over after that and I was afraid to look up and face the housekeeper's wrath.

"Huh. Mikoto-sama's right. You're a nice girl and a weird one too."

My head shot up and saw a kind smile on her face. "W-What?"

" -sama bought a bicycle that you can use for delivery. It's outside. Please take good care of yourself and come back early for breakfast." She bowed in front of her.

I continue to gape at her while she pushed me outside the main door where I saw a red bicycle with a basket at the back, a perfect container for the milk cartons and the newspaper bundles.

I sniffed. "That guy…"

* * *

><p>"Good morning, Sakura-sama!" A man cleaning the car in the garage greeted her as she passed by him to park her bicycle.<p>

"Good morning." I smiled at him and put the bicycle stand down and remove my hair from its ponytail.

I stretched backwards and hit a hard thing and heard a quiet 'oof!' I turn my head and saw Sasuke rubbing his right cheek.

"Oh my God, Sasuke-kun!" I jumped off my bike (that _he_ bought for me) and went beside him, inspecting his a little bit swollen cheek. "Are you okay? What the hell are you doing back there?"

He just frowned at me. "What do you think am I doing behind you? You should have looked first before stretching. Ow."

"Hey! I didn't know you were there!"

"All the more reason to look first before stretching." He continued to rub his cheek and muttered. "Where the hell does she get that strength in that tiny body of hers?"

"Tch." I chuckled at his childishness. "I'm sorry, okay?"

"Hn."

I broke into a fit of giggles. "Oh come on. You want some ice cream? I bought two before going home."

He shook his head. "I don't like sweets."

I shoved the ice cream cup on his hand before walking past him. "Sorry. I don't take no for an answer and proceeded to the Uchiha mansion's entrance door where ten maids bowed as she opened the door.

"Ohayo gozaimasu, Sakura-sama!"

She staggered backwards in shock. "O-oh…"

Two hands behind her kept her in place. "Easy now."

"Ohayo gozaimasu, Sasuke-sama!"

I looked up and saw Sasuke-kun's smirking face. I blushed and moved away from him. "I'm sorry. I'm not used to being treated like a… like that. I'm really sorry."

"Hn. Better get used to it, Sakura." His smirk widened.

"And what do you mean by that? It's not like I'm going to stay here for the rest of my life." I reasoned out.

Sasuke-kun shrugged. "Maybe you won't… maybe you will."

"What?" I looked at him suspiciously.

He just shot me an innocent look and pushed me away from the glaring maids (Geez, who doesn't obsess over this guy?) to the dining room where I saw Mikoto-san, Fugaku-san and Itachi-niisan already sitting there and waiting for us.

Mikoto-san looked up from massaging Fugaku-san's hand and smiled cheerfully at me. "Sakura-chan! Ohayo! We've been waiting for you!"

"Oh! I'm so sorry!" I bowed in front of the. "I was not used to having someone wait for me. Don't worry, this will not happen again. I'm really sorry."

Mikoto-san stood up and pats my head. "Don't be too tense, Sakura-chan. We understand that you're still not accustomed to having someone wait for you. Don't push yourself too hard. We consider you as part of the family now and we're willing to wait until you can finally accept it."

I realized I was already crying when Mikoto-san pulled out her expensive looking handkerchief and wiped my wet cheeks and hugged me real tight. "I'm sorry. It's just… it's been two years… and I…. I'm so sorry…"

"Shh… calm down, Sakura-chan. We're here. We're your new family and we love you." She cooed me like a baby.

It took me a few minutes to compose myself and Sasuke-kun assisted me in sitting beside him. "I'm so sorry for that. I was just so touched that all of you are concerned about my welfare even though you don't know much about me. Thank you. Thank you so much."

"No worries, Sakura-chan." I heard Itachi-niisan say and saw him grinning at me from across the table, Mikoto-san is smiling her heartwarming smile beside him, Fugaku-san is smirking proudly and I turned to my left and Sasuke-kun looking at me from the side and smiling his rare boyish smile.

Behold everyone, my beautiful Uchiha family.

* * *

><p>Sakura got out of Sasuke's black 2011 McLarenMP4-12C without giving any eye contact to anyone there even though she's sure that everyone in the school's parking lot is either gaping at them or glaring at <em><strong>her<strong>_.

"Sasuke-kun, now I'm starting to change my mind about this. They're going to kill me when you're not around." I tugged on his uniform's sleeve.

I felt him shrug and his arms wrapped around her shoulders. "Hn. Stop worrying. You're annoying."

He stopped where he knows everybody will be able to see him and hear him. He raised his chin and looked at everyone. "I want all of you to listen to me. Haruno Sakura here is living in my house. Whoever hurts her, whether you're a boy or a girl, will answer to me. I'm telling you, I'm _**dead serious**_."

* * *

><p>I walked alongside Sasuke-kun through the Gakuen's corridor, ignoring the curious AND <em>furious<em> glances of the students we've passed by.

"Sigh. I think school's gonna be more interesting from now on." I muttered sarcastically and touched the hidden bandages around my waist. "But seriously, Sasuke-kun… what Itachi-niisan put on my bruises is sooooo cool. It disappeared in two hours! Now I have no problem hiding anything from anyone, just the bandages around my waist."

"You know, if you didn't care too much about your perfect attendance, I wouldn't let you attend your classes today. But since you're such a drama queen and begged my mother, I have no choice." Sasuke-kun ignored what I said and scolded me.

We stood in front of my classroom where a few classmates of mine were peeping at the window.

I sighed. "I can't afford to lose my scholarship, Sasuke-kun. I would probably rot in hell with an empty stomach."

Sasuke chuckled. "You and your witty remarks, Sakura. Keep it up and you can drop your scholarship and work at a comedy bar."

I scowled at him. "Tch. Bastard. I'm going in. Thanks for walking me here. Go, before I kick your ass."

He pat my head and lowered his head to my height. His onyx orbs penetrating as he stared seriously at me.

I gaped and felt my cheeks reddening. "W-What?"

"Study hard." He said simply while smirking before walking away.

I blinked and touched my cheeks. "B-Bastard."

I stomped toward my classroom and halted.

Suspicious stares bore onto my back as I hang my bag at the side of my desk.

It was a wrong decision to choose the seat in the middle of classroom.

I sighed.

3…

2…

1…

"Sakura-san!"

"Haruno-san!"

"Sakura-chan!"

"Sakura!"

* * *

><p>"HARUNO SAKURA AKA FOOOREHEAD! What the hell is that rumor I heard? Did you really go to school in UchihaSasuke's oh-so-hot car?" Ino slammed the library's door.<p>

Luckily, there's only a few people inside and they probably know Ino's capacity in asking for a story out of me.

"Ino-pi-"

Ino shook the life out of me. "WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED YESTERDAY? I NEED DETAILS!"

BLAG!

The door opened and Ino and I faced it and saw two panting figures.

"Sakura-chan! Did you hear the rumor? Are you o-"

"Sakura! What happened?! I heard from my teammates that-"

"ALL OF YOU STOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOP! BE QUIET!"

The three of them sat in front of the librarian's (That would be me) counter and looked at me patiently.

"Well… I'm living in the Uchiha Mansion..." I started and shifted uncomfortably in their serious gazes.

"And how did that happen?" Ino raised her brow.

I sighed. This is going to be a looooooooong day.

* * *

><p>I walked quietly beside my three best friends towards the school's garden to unwind. They seemed to be bothered by my story. When I mentioned how all apartments refused to let me in, their faces turned scary.<p>

I sighed again as I turn to Ino. She's glaring at everyone who passes us by. "Ino, nobody's going to jump me here in the hallways. "

"Sakura, you don't know what rich delusional fangirls can do to poor girls like you." She told me without looking, her tone cold.

"Yes, Sakura-chan. It's dangerous. Once, Sasuke-san's fangirls bankrupted my classmate's company just because Sasuke-san picked her book." Hinata shook her head.

Tenten nodded. "And they arsoned one of my teammates' mansion because she became his lab partner _**for a day! **_What a bunch of cheap girls."

"And those girls are rich, Forehead. What they've done to you is still mild so I suggest you stick around Sasuke-kun for awhile. They wouldn't dare defy him. He's our very own Hades." Ino smirked though fear is evident in her ocean blue eyes.

I gaped at them. "But he's so annoying! He always teases me! I've experienced his Hadesness firsthand! He's so bossy, freaky, unpredictable and flirt! I can't stand him!"

"Geez Sakura, you sound like you've fallen for him already and I didn't know that Hadesness is a word." Tenten looked at me suspiciously.

"I don't like him, okay? Sure, I find him hot and attractice at times but that's all, nothing else. It's not like I find him adorable when he smiles at me or he does something out-of-character. It's not like that! Geez." I ranted with my eyes closed, all the while having Sasuke-kun's face on my mind.

I shook my head as I felt heat rise up to my neck. _'Geez, what's with this reaction?"_

Then I noticed none of my three crazy friends are talking. I opened my eyes and finally realized that I'm talking to myself the whole time. I sighed and felt three pairs of eyes boring holes at my back.

I looked behind me and saw them standing beside each other with their arms crossed. The we-didn't-believe-anything-that-you-just-said look on their faces is almost funny but I remembered that I was the one whom they didn't believe.

I put my hands and my waist as I faced them. "Come on guys. Just this once, please. Believe me. I don't like that guy."

Suddenly, I heard their laughs and they continued walking.

My brows furrowed. "What's funny?"

Hinata tried hard to contain her giggles to no avail. "Sakura-chan, you practically admitted how much you like him."

"What? NO! I hate his guts, I hate his ego, I HATE HIM!"

"Sakura, remember, there's a thin line between love and hate. That's tried and tested with me and Neji-kun's relationship before." Tenten put her arms around my shoulder while chuckling and I push it off, pissed at their teasing.

"Yes, Forehead. Even Shika-kun and I. We're like that before so I wish you good luck with your '_I'm not attracted to him but I find him hot' _crap." Ino-pig walked past me as I tried to register all the things they've told me to my almost deranged mind.

'_**WHAT THE HELL ARE THEY TALKING ABOUT?!'**_ I screamed in my head. I have no idea what they're talking about but still… that doesn't change the fact that I don't like even a single hair in that bastard's body. These girls are too eager for me to have a boyfriend.

"HEY FOREHEAD! Stop daydreaming! Let's go! I'm hungry!"

I sighed. "Sheesh. Okay okay. I'm coming."

I caught up to them and followed them as they talk animatedly about their boyfriends.

Geez. I don't need a boyfriend. I need money. MONEEEEEEY!

Hm, but I don't mind feeling attracted to that bastard. After all, he's all I want in a man: handsome, smart, childish and kind. Sigh.

I shake my head. I need to concentrate. I can't focus on this petty issue. One distraction and I might get demoted from the number one spot and if that happens, I have to pay the tuition and I don't have enough money to pay for that.

Come on, Sakura! We can do this! SHANNARO!

* * *

><p>I pout about what the girls were talking about earlier. I tried concentrating to no avail. Everytime I think about which formula I should use, I always picture Sasuke-kun smiling at me and my mind goes blank. This is not a good sign. Those three really have an amazing convincing powers.<p>

Sure, I think Sasuke-kun's pretty hot but WHO DOESN'T? Ino, Hinata-chan, Tenten are all hypocrites. Even if they have their own boyfriends, I'm sure they also imagined him kissing the life out of them.

And please… he's too high for me. We're like the prince and the pauper. He's a prince that has everything he WANTS and he didn't have to do anything. Meanwhile, yours truly is a pauper who does everything to get what I NEED but it's not enough.

Great. Now I'm putting myself down. Amazing. It's amazing how you work hard to build your self confidence and how easy it is to tear it apart just because of someone higher than you.

I roam my eyes in our classroom. Everybody's already fixing their things. I'm good to go since I don't have that much things.

"Sakura-neesan!"

I looked at the door and I smiled. "Moegi-chan! How are you? What are you doing here?"

"I just want to look at you. Naruto-niisan told me you got beaten up by ugly bitches yesterday. Are you okay?" She entered, not minding the stares of my classmates.

This girl is really something. I met her through Naruto. He's always babysitting the third principal of this school, Sarutobi-sama's grandson, Konohamaru, and Moegi-chan is one of his two bestfriends. I often help Moegi-chan in her homeworks. I'm also the only one who knows about her little crush on Konohamaru.

She often visits me and keep me updated on the news in the Junior High wing of this crazy school.

I beamed at her. "I'm totally fine. Itachi-niisan patched me up perfectly that I was able to go to school today looking perfectly fine."

"Itachi-niisan? You mean Uchiha Itachi?" I nodded. "So the runors were true! They said Sasuke-niisan burst out earlier about you living in the Uchiha Manor and he told everyone to keep their hands off you." Moegi-chan looked at me expectantly.

I forced a laugh.. "Well yeah. That's what kind of happened this morning. Geez. News spread fast."

"Nee-san, Sasuke-niisan is really famous here. You should do your best to protect his image. Okay?" Moegi- beamed at me.

"Yeah yeah." I reassured her.

"Great! I'll go now. Konohamaru-kun's waiting for me outside." She said dreamily.

"Ooh. That's an improvement, Moegi-chan! Keep it up and soon you'll be Konohamaru's girlfriend."

She scratched her head shyly with her face all red. "I forgot to tell you, I am Konohamaru-kun's girlfriend already."

"WHAT?! WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME?! WHEN DID THIS HAPPEN?!" I exclaimed angrily.

Moegi-chan put her hands together in front of her face and bowed guiltily. "I'll tell you but not today. Konohamaru-kun asked me for a date. This is a once in a lifetime chance. I'll tell you soon! Okay?"

"Alright alright. See you soon. Go! Before Konohamaru leaves you!" I pushed her away and she giggled.

"Bye Sakura-chan! Glad to see you're okay. See you! Good luck with Sasuke-niisan!" I gaped at her and she laughed heartily as she ran outside my classroom.

I just laughed as I stood up. Moegi-chan's really cheerful.

I should leave now or I'll be late. I hope the manager in the restaurant where I'm working won't mind if I was absent yesterday. I e-mailed him this morning but he didn't answer. Sigh.

"Stop right there, you gold-digging bitch." One of my bitchy classmates blocked the door and glared at me.

My eyes returned her glare. "Pardon? Were you calling yourself?"

She laughed insultingly. "You have the nerve to talk back, commoner. Just because Uchiha Sasuke's protecting you doesn't mean he also fetches you here in our classroom so you're dead."

"Sakura. I came here to fetch you." A monotone voice said outside our classroom.

My bitchy classmate couldn't say anything. Even _**I **_couldn't believe it.

She gawked at the person outside my classroom.

Everybody turn to that person and to me.

He eyed me. "Your class finished? Let's eat outside. Tousan, kaasan and Itachi are out and they told me to eat dinner outside with you. Hey, you alright? Stop looking so cute."

I snapped out of my reverie and flushed. "Stop teasing me, Sasuke-kun. I can't go. I have to work."

Gasps were heard behind me. Yes bitches, I turned down Uchiha Sasuke. Yes, I'm smug.

"You're working in a restaurant, right? Let's eat there." He said as-a-matter-of-factly.

"What? But- NO!"

With that, I got dragged by , in front of my classmates and in front of the school. Yes, it's pretty humiliating. Sigh. I hate my life.

I glared daggers at Sasuke as he ate quietly across me.

* * *

><p>When we entered La Italia Restaurante, I was shocked when our manager greeted him casually like they've known each other for a long time.<p>

_"Sasuke-san! What a surprise! It's been a long time!" Akihito-san greeted cheerily and shook Sasuke-kun's hand._

_"Akihito." Sasuke-kun nodded. "Yes. I'm afraid all of us are quite busy these days."_

_Our manager laughed. "That's expected from the Uchiha family. Don't worry, I'll bring you our new best dish." He turned to me. "Great timing, Sakura. I want you to be Sasuke-san's personal server, understand?"_

_I nodded helplessly. "Yes, sir. I understand."_

_"I want Sakura to dine with me. Is that alright, Akihito?" Sasuke butt in our conversation._

_I expected him to be surprised but I guess what Ino has been doing made him used to me not doing my job AND they got to receive benefits from my friends. Akihito-san just smiled kindly at the both of us. "No problem, sir. But may I request that she must wear her uniform to remind her of her work?"_

_"Of course. Thank you." Sasuke-kun smirked at me._

_And I just rolled my eyes._

"Sigh..."

"You shouldn't sigh in front of the food, Sakura. Don't you have any good table manners?" Sasuke-kun flicked my nose again using the handle of his spoon.

I continue glaring at him. "And flicking someone's nose with a spoon is a good table manner?"

He just shrugged as a reply.

I closed my eyes and _**tried **_to calm myself.

"Hn. The food here really is amazing." He muttered, not sure if he's telling the truth or just saying that because my manager's within hearing distance. No doubt spying for juicy news.

I rolled my eyes and watched him eat. He eats like any other guy but there is an air of pride surrounding him just like every wealthy person out there.

I voiced out the question that's been bugging me for a while now. "Sasuke-kun, why are you doing this? I mean, not that I'm not thankful but this is so not like you. You were this stoic, uncaring and cold guy who stayed low before but doing all this for me, it's out of character. It's not the Uchiha Sasuke that I've heard of."

The whole time I was talking, he continue eating without giving me so much of a glance.

"Sasuke-kun?"

He put his utensils down and sighed. "Aren't you eating? The food's getting cold."

I crossed my arms. "This will be the first and last time I would say no to food. So please, answer my question."

Sasuke-kun searched my face and whatever he saw made his expression turn to the stoic one she saw when she bumped into him. "I want to get to know you. Sakura, this is the first time I've taken interest in someone and I want to know the reason why."

"Y-You're interested in me?"

"Hn."

I glared at him. "What's Hn? Is that a yes? Or a no? Wait. Is that even a word? I wouldn't understand what you mean if you won't say it clearly."

He smirked at me. "Not my problem." Then stood up while wiping his lips with the table napkin.

I just gaped at his cockiness and muttered under my breath just in case my manager is still eavesdropping. "Stupid, cocky, insensitive, arrogant bastard."

"Hn." He started towards the door and stopped to look at me. "See you later."

I just stood up and bowed. "Thank you for dining in _La Italia Restaurante. _Please come again, _**Sir**_."

* * *

><p>I pressed the bus' stop button and got off.<p>

Geez. Uchiha Sasuke is so stubborn. I was just clearing up things and then what? He left.

And here I thought he's interested in me. But wait, he is! He just didn't say how much. Maybe he liked me romantically. Yeah! And he wants me to be his girlfriend! Or or or-

_Or maybe he just want you for sex. _A voiced inside me mused.

Oh yeah. Maybe he's interested because I'm the only one who doesn't bow down to him, who doesn't squeal when he's in sight, who doesn't kiss the ground he walks on and the only one who's not head over heels about him.

"Really?" I asked myself and rolled my eyes. "I think I'm all that."

He makes me bow down to his every word. I squeal when he's in sight (mentally, of course). I don't think I kiss the ground he walks on but I always watch him when he walks, well he's pleasant for my eyes. And seeing that I've admitted how much I'm interested in him, I believe that I'm head over heels for that arrogant bastard.

I walked through the quiet road to the Uchiha Manor and pondered how was I able to fall for that guy in such a short span of time.

And just as I was at the huge gate of the manor, I realized how is not important now, what matters is that I fell for him and that's it.

It's not that I'm going to confess to him or something. That's currently last on my list of to-dos.

* * *

><p>I entered the main house and head to the dining area to get some water when I noticed that the chandeliers are still lit. It's late, everyone should be sleeping right now.<p>

I peeked at the doorway and was shocked to see the person sitting in front of the huge dining table.

The person noticed her. "Sakura. What are you doing there? Come here."

"U-Uh, good evening sir." I forced a smile, still intimidated by just the mere presence of the head of the Uchiha clan. I went to his side and bowed.

"You don't have to be so formal, call me Fugaku. And it's already twelve thirty so technically it's already morning." He smirked at me.

My gosh, so that's where Itachi-niisan and Sasuke-kun got their heart-throbbing smirk from.

I flushed, whether from his comment or my thoughts, I don't know. "Sorry."

A pause.

"You should go up now. It's late and my son's been waiting for you since he arrived earlier." Fugaku-san told me and touched my shoulder. "You gave light to our home, Sakura, keep it up."

I gave him my best smile. "Yes sir."

* * *

><p>I walked (more like floating with happiness) through the long hallway towards my room.<p>

It's almost one but I'm still giddy with happiness.

I can't believe Fugaku-san would welcome me into his family. I'm so happy. This is the first time I get to see him smirk like that and he's a splitting image of his two sons when he did. I get to find a place where I'm accepted as I am aside from Ino, Tenten and Hinata-chan. I can't wait to tell them!

_'Mom... thank you. I know you're one of the reasons why I was able to find this home. I'm so happy. Thank you so much. Rest assured, I have a feeling the Uchiha family will take good care of me." _I smiled to myself. I'm sure wherever my mom is, she's glad that I'm happy.

The door to my room is slightly ajar. That Sasuke, doesn't he know how to close a door? It's for privacy. What if a maid _**accidentally **_enter his room while he's doing something inappropriate for the eyes of an innocent girl?

_"Like changing clothes?" _I giggled at the dirty thoughts flooding my mind. Geez. Hanging out with a member of the male species possessing a hunkable body, a hunkable voice, a hunkable face, and a hunkable eyes could make you think like a total perv.

I entered my room and looked for the hunkable hunk that made me think like this.

My eyes wandered through the humongous room and spotted a still figure on my bed.

My feet seemed to have its own mind and started towards the figure whom she's a hundred percent sure is playing a prank on her, pretending to be asleep.

When I was starting to reach towards him to strangle him (Yes, I'm seriously gonna stranhle this hunkable hunk), I stopped when I saw his face.

*Ba thump*

My heart skipped a beat.

Sasuke-kun's sprawled on top of my sea green silk duvet, one hand on his forehead while the other's on his belly, holding his phone. He had his mouth slightly open and I could hear a soft snore. A few stray bangs covered his eyes. Hm. He looked so adorable and harmless. If only he could stay like this forever.

_Naw._

I chuckled at my thought. Heh. I guess I'll take Sasuke-kun awake, bad manners and all.

I knelt on the side of the bed, leaning on the space before Sasuke-kun and smiling uncontrollably.

He's such an unpredictable character, one moment he's this too cool guy you can't approach then he's gonna be a teasing guy you can't resist and then this...

Right now he's this sweet guy who'd do something you didn't expect and would definitely melt your heart that you are willing do everything for him.

My smile widened to a grin as I leaned my head on the really soft bed. "I guess I like your idea, Sasuke-kun, something's pulling me towards you and I have no idea what it is. I need to figure this out."

I felt sleep taking over me.

"Let's get to know each other, ne Sasuke-kun?" I hear myself murmur while I'm being dragged by this relaxing darkness into oblivion.

This is something to look forward to, right?

* * *

><p>End of Chapter 7<p>

* * *

><p>Author's note:<p>

Hi there. Did you like it? How is it? Please tell me about it.

Review. Favorites. Follow.

No matter which. It will certainly be my insporation to write. :)


	8. Her Epiphany

Hey! How are you people? THIS IS AN UPDATE! Rejoice! All hail the lazy me for uploading! LOL!

**THANK YOU SO MUCH TO THOSE WHO FOLLOWED, FAVORITED, REVIEWED ME AND THIS STORY! ****J**** Keep it up!**

Have fun reading!

Standard DISCLAIMER applied.

* * *

><p><strong>SURVIVING MY OWN STUPIDITY<strong>

* * *

><p>Chapter 8<p>

**Her Epiphany**

* * *

><p>I quietly ate my breakfast with my eyes on this delicious Western dish, determined not to take even a glance at the guy who slept on my bed last night.<p>

"Sakura?" I look up to Mikoto-san whom I noticed was really serious right now.

"Yes, Mikoto-san?" I managed to say under her no-nonsense stare.

She put down her utensils and straightened her back without turning her gaze away from me. "I need to inform you about my grudge against liars. And this stupid son of mine," I had a feeling she was referring to Sasuke without her acknowledging his presence, "despite my hate for liars, kept lying to me."

"O-Okay..." I gulped.

"And just so you know, my otouto was hit by kaa-san's huge fist earlier because of lying. If you'd feel the back of his head, you'd be scared at how huge the bump there." Itachi-niisan said seriously.

A while ago, I was feeling nervous, but now? I'm totally terrified. I'm being scrutinized by their unwavering scary gaze.

Whatever Sasuke-kun did, he should've told the truth and not-

"Do you, by any chance, know where Sasuke slept last night?"

I froze and felt the blood drain from my face. I just managed to mutter a quiet "Uh?"

The air in the dining room was too heavy and eerie that I'm sweating profusely.

Mikoto-san didn't so much budge from her stern position. Her eyes narrowed at Sasuke-kun (the first time she **_unpleasantly_** acknowledged his presence) then smiled all-too-sweetly at me. "I hope you wouldn't lie just to protect this stupid son of mine."

My eyes darted to Sasuke-kun who was quietly eating and completely ignoring me being grilled by his scary mother.

"Well you see Sakura-chan..." She demanded for my attention by hitting the dining table once. "...when I wake up every morning, I make sure to check on my sons before leaving. Imagine my surprise when- for the first time!- this stupid son of mine was not in his room! My goodness! What a disgrace!" She closed her eyes and massaged her temple. "I was so disappointed that my stupid youngest son slept somewhere without telling anyone in his family. The horror!"

But we're completely innocent! The only thing off is that I woke up this morning ON the bed when I vividly remember how I fell asleep kneeling on the bedside.

'_Let's get to know each other, ne Sasuke-kun_?'

Blood rushed to my face and the dining room suddenly became warm which was definitely impossible considering that the mansion has a centralized air conditioning.

Geez. What evil spirit possessed me to say those embarrassing words? It's a good thing Sasuke-kun's sleeping when I said that.

Speaking of that bastard, I didn't see him in my room this morning. There's no proof that he slept there except the fact that my memory is totally amazing. Me remembering everything is enough to prove that he really was there.

I smiled sheepishly. '_He even moved me to the bed._'

"Sakura-chan?" Itachi-niisan's voice beside me snapped me out of my ridiculous thoughts.

I looked up and saw that all four Uchihas are looking at me weirdly.

Then I realized that I was daydreaming with a stupid grin on my face. "Oh! I'm so sorry! I remembered something pleasant. What was it again?"

Mikoto-san sighed and leaned her back against her chair. "I was talking about Uchiha Rule #23 which states that 'Nobody is allowed to sleep in other people's houses unless otherwise given the permission to do so by the authority.'"

"And she's the authority." I heard Itachi-niisan whisper to me.

"My goodness. The pain that this stupid son of mine causes is unbearable." She sobbed. "The one thing that I ask of you my sons is to follow those 100 Uchiha Rules! Is that so hard?! Oh Fugaku, where have I gone wrong?"

'_100 Uchiha Rules? Scary.._.'

"Mikoto, it's alright. You did nothing wrong. It's not our fault this stupid sone of ours is too proud to follow our rules. We haven't done anything wrong in raising him. It's his stupid choice." Fugaku-san held her hand on the table.

I saw from my peripheral vision how Itachi-niisan nodded in agreement. "You're too arrogant, otouto. You stupid son of kaasan and tousan."

I watched everyone insult Sasuke-kun.

It wasn't his fault... He was waiting for me right? That's why he fell asleep. If only I didn't take my time walking, he wouldn't have fallen asleep and he wouldn't have to be called 'stupid son of mine', right?

He was just looking out for me and all I gave him was trouble.

Sasuke-kun...

Itachi-niisan tsked. "You really are a stupid so-"

I slammed my hands on the table and stood up. "Please stop calling him stupid!"

Determined, I looked at their faces. Wide eyes, check. Mouth gaping, check. Utensils in mid-air, check. They won't seem to respond anytime soon.

I took a deep breath. "Sasuke-kun was in my room last night so please stop calling him stupid. He didn't break rule #23. He still follows your family rules so please... don't be mean to him."

Their reactions doubled. Wider eyes, jaws dropping and utensils fell noisily on the table.

"That's all." I dropped my behind on the cushioned chair.

A few moments of eerie silence of just hearing my pounding heart almost killed me.

I was looking at them, determined to defend Sasuke-kun.

"Is... Is that true, Sakura-chan?" I heard Mikoto-san asked hesitantly.

I closed my eyes, ready to hear my impending doom. "Yes, Mikoto-san. I'm so so-"

"Well why didn't you say so earlier? Mou, we've called Sasu-chan 'stupid son of mine' too many times. This is so humiliating!" Mikoto-san pinched Sasuke-kun's left cheek and laughed. "Were you angry? Ah, you are too sensitive for your own good, my dear Sasu-chan."

Itachi-niisan laughed heartily and throw his table napkin to Sasuke-kun's face. "My otouto's growing up. He's a man now! You should've told us! We should've been celebrating by now! Ha ha!"

Fugaku-san nodded, an air of pride surrounding him. "I'm so proud of you, son. I was wondering when you would give up your virginity. And it's in our mansion! You did great! How many rounds did you-"

"I bet eight!" Mikoto-san exclaimed happily.

"Hn. He came from school so I think he's tired. So five for me." Fugaku-san rubbed his chin thoughtfully.

Itachi-niisan chuckled. "You're underestimating my otouto's stamina. He's young so I bet fifteen!"

"What's at stake here? I'm betting a year's worth of spa and massage in the Carribean!" Mikoto-san stood up in excitement.

The three argued about how many rounds did Sasuke-kun and I last. Last what? Rounds? We weren't playing any game so why would there be rounds? What are they talking about?

"A-Anou... what are you talking about?" I tried to ask them but they were yelling at each other. "Uhm, Itachi-niisan... Mikoto-san... anou... Fugaku-san..."

"What era were you born, huh? They're arguing about how many rounds of sex we did." Sasuke-kun told me.

I gaped at his answer and felt heat rise up to her scalp. "E-Eh! But we just slept!"

Sasuke-kun just tsked. "Try telling them that. This is why I didn't want to tell them. Geez."

"I'm sorry." I cleared my throat and continue eating.

He just smirked at me.

"Ha... ha ha ha ha!" I gaped when I saw Mikoto-san and Itachi-niisan laughing uncontrollably. Even Fugaku-san was chuckling.

I faced Sasuke-kun who was still smirking but now with mirth shining in his onyx eyes.

What the hell is wrong with these people? I yelled at them, scolded them, and they laugh at me? I was even thinking of how I should pack my things once I finished eating.

I can't believe this.

'_Mom in heaven, at the age of nineteen, the family whom I'm living with thought that I did something inappropriate with the youngest member of their family and they're betting how many rounds we lasted_.'

Oh God help me.

* * *

><p>Time passes by so fast that I realized-after looking at the calendar- that I've been living with the Uchihas for two months now.<p>

Who would've thought I'll be able to live in thus mansion full of crazy (but loving) people. I'm also used to Itachi-niisan whose favorite past-time seems to be teasing Sasuke-kun, and unfortunately, I got teased in the process. Fugaku-san always ask me if I'm comfortable in anything and does everything in his power to do it. One time he installed a really huge couch in my room and asked me if it's alright and I made a little comment about how I nearly tripped because of its size, he immediately called some workers and told them to change it to something smaller and prettier. I'm thankful for his hospitality. Before my shifts in my part time job as a waitress (or nurse during weekends), Mikoto-san would drag me to spas, malls, salons, and even in business meetings. She reasoned that since I'm going to be her Sasu-chan's future wife (I have no idea how she got that assumption), I have to learn everything in their business but I really don't understand anything during those meetings. I'm more into Itachi-niisan's field of work (he's a doctor).

Speaking of Sasu-chan- err, I mean Sasuke-kun, he's been so attentive that we looked like a couple. He drops me off my classroom and picks me up after dismissal. He brings my bento whenever I forgot to bring it (he now eats with a bento, saying that homemade food is better than any restaurants'). He watches me when I sleep on the rooftop. He also gives me snacks when I sleep late to study and studies with me. It's hard to be angry at him for too long 'coz he's too sweet for his own good whenever he lets his guard down. But most of the time, the pole in his ass is too deep that he doesn't even talk to me! (Talk about being moody). He's adorable... but arrogant... and thoughtful... but stern... and handsome... but a bastard... Sigh.

And I admit that girls are being swept off their feet just by looking at him and his get-out-of-sight-bitch attitude.

And right now? I really wish he wasn't as attractive as he is.

I really have no idea how I got into this mess and Kami-sama, I could definitely use some knight in shining armor right now.

"Haruno-san? Are you okay? Did you hear what I just said?"

I was walking through the lobby when all of a sudden I was pulled by this person to the back of the school.

My eyes wandered to this busty red head in front of me. She's pretty, I believe it's only because of those expensive cosmetics from abroad. I also think she picked the wrong size of uniform to buy. Her bust was on the midst of getting out of the confines of her two-size-smaller blouse. The same with her ultra-mega-micro-mini skirt, one slight bend and everyone can see what's under it.

I kept my cool facade. "I'm fine, Akihara-san. I heard everything that you told me loud and clear."

"O, that's good! So? When are you gonna arrange me a date with Sasuke-sama?" She asked cheerily.

"U-Uh... that's..."

Her pale blue eyes narrowed at my hesitation. "Are you playing with me, Haruno-san? Because I'm not and I don't care if you're living with Sasuke-kun because when I'm done with you, he wouldn't recognize your ugly face."

I gulped. What is it with Sasuke-kun and everyone's willing to kill a girl who's close to him?

This is pathetic. My mom didn't raise me to be afraid of rich spoiled brats who use their family fortune to torture others.

I inhaled deeply and met this bitc- I mean girl's eyes. "Well, why don't you do it now? You can do that without hiring someone, right? Or are you scared that you're the one who's gonna be unrecognizable after this?"

Akihara snarled at me (I'm telling you, she's ugly and scary) and made a move to grab my ponytailed hair.

But I stopped her by raising my right handand giving her a sweet smile. "Just to warn you, I don't do cat fights. I've been training under Tenten, Hyuuga Hinata AND Hyuuga Neji, if you're familiar with them. And they told me that I'm skilled enough to become Tsunade-sama's apprentice. Oh, and Shizune-san watched me train and agrees."

Booby girl took a step back.

I prepared myself and showed her my fighting stance. "That incident with those two bitches and their lady wrestlers won't ever ever EVER happen again!"

"Y-You bitch! I-I'm gonna get you for this! Y-You're going to pay!" She yelled and ran away.

After a few minutes, my legs gave out on me. I fell sitting on the dirty ground. The back of the school is pretty quiet so I heard how my heart raced in fear.

Who knew I was a good actress?

I sighed.

I should seriously attend those trainings. It would probably do me good. Those things I said were all true but since I'm too confident that I don't need any follow-up trainings, I stopped attending. Hinata-chan keeps persuading me to continue but I'm pretty sure Neji and Tenten doesn't mind since they get to have the Hyuuga dojo all to themselves.

Geez.

I stood up and pat my skirt.

"Now to look for those three..."

* * *

><p>"Hey, Big Forehead-chan!" Ino's high-pitched voice echoed through the empty grand staircase in our school.<p>

I looked up and saw Ino-pig, Hinata-chan and Tenten smiling down at me from the eight floor.

Would you look at that, I can still hear her annoying voice here in the ground floor. Well, this is a new discovery. I wonder if Naruto can beat her (I bet he will with that loud mouth of his).

Before I can answer, Ino exclaimed again. "Wait for us there! Hinata-chan's got a really really really good news!"

I rolled my eyes as I watched Tenten and Hinata-chan get dragged by Ino-pig as she dash down the grand staircases.

Why didn't she just use the elevator?

"So? What's the fuss all about?" I put my hands on my hips as the three of them catch their breaths in front of me.

Ino-pig jerked up and beamed. "Hinata-chan's not a virgin anymore!"

Silence.

Blag!

I looked down and saw Hinata-chan's body slumped on the ground.

Oh. She fainted.

* * *

><p>"Hinata-chan? Ooooooiiii~ Are you still alive? Naruto's gonna kill me if you don't wake up soon~" Ino-pig sang as she poked on Hinata-chan's flustered cheeks.<p>

We sat on the side of the hospital bed where Hinata-chan is currently sleeping (still with a red face). I wouldn't call this place infirmary since this five floor building is the health center of the school.

Amazing, right?

I shook my head while chuckling. "It's your fault, _baka_. You didn't have to yell it like that. You know how shy she is. Ah! This is a week worth of fainting."

Ino-pig just pouted. "I didn't mean to. You know how I am when I'm excited. Naruto was on my first class and he was acting REALLY weird with the acting all giddy then freeze with his face like a tomato. He wouldn't tell me anything so I called Hinata-chan and she told me. I was just so happy that I can't contain myself."

"So happy that she called me while crying, saying '_Our Hinata-chan's all grown up now. How time flies. Waaaa~_' Haha, what are you? Her mother?" Tenten laughed before munching on some ponkan stocked on the side table.

"I'm just proud that she **FINALLY** got out of her shell. I'm pretty sure this is the start of her being confident. Not that I'm saying that being devirginized will make her so but knowing that Naruto will be there for her, I'm glad because there are some things that even us, her friends, can't do for her unlike having the one she loves support and do everything for her." Ino smiled genuinely as she watch Hinata-chan's peaceful sleeping face.

I was speechless.

I turned to Tenten and she looked back at me, her mouth wide and the ponkan hanging halfway towards her mouth.

We pouted and faced Ino.

"Ino-pig! We're so proud of you!"

"Ino-chan! We're so proud of you!"

She turned to us and blushed. "_Baka_! W-What are you guys saying? Geez! I was just... uhm... saying what I really feel!"

"I-Ino-chan..." All of us turned to the hospital bed where Hinata-chan is now sitting.

"Ah! Hinata-chan! Great! I won't be killed by that idiot! Are you okay?" Ino-pig beamed at her.

She nodded cheerfully. "_Hai_! Thank you so much for worrying about me. I will try my best to be more confident! Thank you, _minna_."

"That's great! Ha ha! With Naruto and us three supporting you, you'll be confident in no time!" I grinned at her.

"_H-Hai_!"

"So..." Tenten started with a naughty grin plastered on her face. "How's that baka in bed? Rate from 1 to 10. Coz' for me Neji's 9, he can do everywhere but he's so strict, I get left wanting more."

"Mou, Shika's 8 coz' he's too lazy I always initiate but when he's not lazy which is once in a blue moon..." Ino-pig also grinned naughtily. "... PERFECT 10! Ha ha ha!"

Hinata clutched the blankets and covered her mouth. "_10_..."

"Huh? What?"

She closed her eyes tightly with her face all red. "I said 10! N-Naruto-kun's stamina is... unbelievable. A-And we did it on the sofa..."

"Sofa? Niiiiiiice~"

"Then the floor..."

"The floor's a little uncomfortable... but kinky."

"Then the kitchen counter..."

"Kitchen counter? Ha! Been there done that."

"Then the stairs..."

"Stairs? Doesn't that hurt?"

"Shut up, you virgin."

"Hey!"

"Then the entertainment den..."

"Oooh~ **_Entertainment _**den. Ha ha ha!"

"Then the bathroom in the entertainment den..."

"I like bathrooms too. Hi hi hi."

"Then the hallway..."

"Hm. Good thing Naruto lives alone."

"Then the study table..."

"...hey, this is the eighth..."

"Then the floor again..."

"..."

"And the bed..."

"Uhm Hinata-chan..."

"Your stamina's pretty unbelievable as well, you know."

"Eh?"

"You had ten rounds! Me and Shika never got past eight!"

"Neji and I once reached ten but... I don't wanna do it again. Coz' I'm really going to die."

"Wow. The three of you are amazing... that's like a work out in bed and uh...not in bed."

"_Not_..."

"What did you say, Hinata-chan?"

"I said 'Not 10'! But... 15. 15 _q-quickies._"

"..."

"Oh. My. God."

"That is for the Guiness! The two of you are not human! Waaa~! Shika, you _baka_!"

"Hello, Neji! Wait for me in the dojo's shower room! We need to get started, RIGHT NOW! What do you mean by practice?! If that dojo's not empty by the time I get there, no sex for 5 months! Got that, Hyuuga?! Good! Get ready! Bye girls! Hinata-chan, I'm going to show you! 20! We'll do 20!"

SLAM!

"Wow, Tenten's pretty competitive. And what's with the dirty fingers? Ino-pig, stop crying. And Hinata-chan... I'll buy you tons of protection next time, okay? The two of you are like bunnies. Always going at it. Ha ha ha!"

"Sakura-chan... Tenten-chan... Ino-chan... I..."

BLAG!

Oh. She fainted. **Again**. Ugh.

* * *

><p>"He he... Pfft! Ha ha ha ha ha ha!" I laughed as I walked through the Uchiha Compound.<p>

Those three really are the best. I couldn't stop laughing at the events that took place earlier.

During class, while I was answering the question our teacher asked me, I suddenly remembered those three weirdos' expressions [Tenten t(ToTt) Ino-pig (ToT) Hinata-chan =(#.#)=] and I burst out laughing that the whole class -and our teacher- declared that Haruno Sakura is officially losing it.

Even at the _La Italia Restaurante_, I was serving a couple when I remembered those three weirdos' expressions again [Tenten t(ToTt) Ino-pig (ToT) Hinata-chan =(#.#)=] that I tried my best not to laugh but it frightened the customers saying that I looked like I was cursing them in my mind.

Aah, it really is good to have friends.

They were the very first friends I had and thankfully they're just as weird as me. I'm not out-of-place. I'm not being used. I'm totally enjoying my time with them. And I am definitely not hurting because of them.

Feels great to have friends!

But still...

Tenten t(ToTt)

Ino-pig (ToT)

Hinata-chan =(#.#)=

"Pfft! Bwa ha ha ha ha! So funny!" I can't help but laugh out loud.

"Oi, be quiet. Everyone's already sleeping."

"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaa- Umpfffff!" I screamed at the top of my lungs after I heard that deep voice but a hand covered my mouth almost instantly.

I was teary eyed when I saw a head of black hair and a pair of anxious onyx eyes. "You idiot! You didn't have to scream! Geez."

Sasuke-kun let go of me and shook his head in disbelief.

"Y-You_ teme_! Why do you have to suddenly appear like that?! I was scared to death!" I tried to calm my racing heartbeat. Doesn't he know how to greet someone face to face? And that wasn't even a greeting! Really. What a bastard.

Hm. But this bastard really looks hot tonight. He's not in his uniform anymore. A plain white shirt that snuggled against his not-too-muscular-but-muscular-enough-to-look-hot body and a simple khaki shorts. Sigh. Why does he look like a supermodel in shirt and shorts? Ugh. Life's unfair.

"Hn. You're the one walking like a crazy idiot, laughing to yourself." He crossed his arms and start heading towards their mansion. "It was a good idea for me to take a walk this late at night. What if it was someone with ill intentions? You'll just stammer like that and end up black and blue bandaged on my bed again?"

My fuse short circuited. And I even though he looks hot just for him to insult me! Argh!

I pulled his chicken hair and faced him. He stopped walking and gave me a 'what-did-you-just-pull' stare. "What the hell?! First off, this is the Uchiha Manor! All the people here are your family members. Nobody will hurt me here. And second, I can manage myself **PERFECTLY**! For your information, I just protected myself this morning from one of your obsessed-slash-super violent fan girls I threatened her not to hurt me or I'll hurt her back." I also crossed my arms and gave off a 'in-your-face' aura.

His pale fingers suddenly went to the bridge of his nose and closed his eyes. His eyebrows furrowed and his nose crunched, like he's concentrating about something.

"Uh... Sasuke-kun?" I reached out to him.

"Don't." He opened his eyes and I saw red.

I blinked and he's now looking away. Red eyes? Hm. Must be my imagination. "What's the matter?"

He started walking again.

What's with him? Where's the sweet (at least, for me) Sasuke-kun earlier? What did I do? Is he mad that I protected myself? Naaah. Maybe it's about me pulling his hair.

I looked up and saw Sasuke-kun already far away from me.

I ran. "Hey! Sasuke-kun! Wait for me!"

* * *

><p>I was surprised to see him walk towards my room instead of his. He entered and walked straight to the balcony.<p>

I sniffed. Is that croissant?

"Hm. He's just so moody." I pouted and went towards the walk-in closet to get my pajamas. Better take a short shower before facing that stoic guy.

My supposedly short shower took a long time than usual that I was expecting Sasuke-kun gone since it's past midnight.

But imagine my surprise when I saw him laying on my bed, playing with his iPhone and a basket of croissants and a tea set are on the center table across my bed.

I sighed and walked towards him as I dry my hair. "Sasuke-kun, do you know what time it is?"

"No." He answered without looking at me.

Oh great. He's using his I-don't-care-just-talk-to-yourself tone of voice. "I'll tell you anyway, it's past midnight and we have classes tomorrow. If you don't have anything to do, play in your room. I'm tired."

"I'm sorry."

I was going to sit beside him on the bed when I heard that. Was I just hallucinating?

I faced him and saw he's still concentrating on the game in his iPhone. From the sound of it, it's Minion Rush. "Uhm. Did you say something Sasuke-kun? I thought I heard you apo-"

"I'm not gonna repeat it, you got that?" He peeked at me from his phone.

Weird guy.

I just continue drying my hair with my back to him. "Alright. Then can I ask why you said that? I see no reason for you to apologize to me."

I felt the bed shift. He grabbed the towel and pushed me off the bed. "Hey!"

"Sit on the floor. I'm gonna do it." He commanded and I obliged. Judging by his mood and facial expression, I have a feeling that talking back and not doing what he says would probably do me no good.

I sat comfortably on the floor with my back against the bed and Sasuke-kun's legs on either side of me.

He started drying my hair and I was amazed at how gentle it felt. Much gentle than how I was doing it earlier.

His gentleness made me wonder how many girls have experienced this. What happened after he did this? Who taught him the right way to do it? Was she beautiful? Did they know each other well? Did he held her hair the way he held mine right at this moment? Did Sasuke-kun love her?

A sharp pain shot through my chest.

What was that? Was that my hallucination again? Maybe I'm sick. Geez.

"Talk now, Sasuke-kun." I didn't expect how bitter that sentence came out. But I wasn't feeling as nice as a few moments ago and I don't know why. "I don't have time for your silence. If you're not gonna say anything then we should probably go to sleep."

He stopped but I ignored him. I'm suddenly not in the mood to feel guilty and take back what I said.

What am I saying? **_And_** what the hell am I feeling?

I heard him sigh and continue drying my hair. "I was apologizing... 'coz it's my fault that you are being targeted like this. Those stupid fan girls are too annoying for me talk to them. And they're doing things that are unforgivable. But... don't worry, this will be the last time you'll be threatened like this."

I still feel pissed off (though I don't know why) but I was confused. "What do you mean?"

"Hn."

I looked up to him.

I flushed.

He's also looking down on me with his usual stoic expression but there's something different.

Did I mention that our faces are a few inches away from each other?

I blinked and felt myself blush under his intense stare. "W-W-What's wrong, S-Sasuke-kun?"

He just kept staring at me and I felt my cheeks turn redder than it already was.

I frowned at him and went to face my front but he held my head using both of his hands. I panicked and pulled his hands aways but he stubbornly kept it there. "T-The hell, Sasuke-kun?! W-What are you doing?! Let me go! Sasuke-kun!"

"You. Are. So. Annoying. Be quiet." He murmured but with the distance between our faces, I felt he was yelling at me. I can feel his belly against my head, he was holding my head in place-not too tight and definitely not too loose- and I can't move it no matter how hard I struggle.

"What the hell's your problem? Let me go or I'll hit your you-know-what using my head. You definitely wouldn't like how that feels." I hissed. My previous anger returning. This handsome bastard, always doing whatever he likes. Dang it.

He rolled his eyes and let me go.

I stood up and sat in front of my vanity mirror beside my bed. "You're such a teme, Sasuke-kun. I have NO idea what those girls see in you. You're such a terrible person."

"Hn. You're pouting." I heard him say.

"I'm not. You're just so mean." I complained and brushed my already dry hair, thanks to Sasuke-kun.

Sasuke-kun turned to face me but I ignored his actions and kept on brushing my waist-length hair.

"You should just find yourself a girlfriend so that you wouldn't waste your time teasing me like this." I said before I can even think about it.

I looked at him warily and he was still looking at me, now thoughtful.

"You mean I should look for a girlfriend because I have a lot of time?" He inquired.

"That's not what I-"

He stood up and bonk my head lightly. "You really are a forever alone virgin."

"What the-! What's being a virgin got to do with that? You guys just can't keep it in your pants whenever you're in a relationship." I reasoned out angrily.

"Of course, we can't." He chuckled and sat back on the bed. "How can we keep it in our pants if we wanna do it with our partner?"

I put down my brush and sat beside him on the bed with my legs crossed, facing him. "But don't you think doing that after you got married is somewhat... romantic?"

"Romance is not why people do it nowadays, you know. They just do it for pleasure. Satisfying their desires, their lust or whatever you want to call it." He smirked at me.

I frowned. "No! I disagree! According to my observation of my friends, they do it with their partners because they love them. It's not like they're going to look for someone they're physically compatible with just to have sex. Love is the number one reason why they do it." I told him stubbornly. "Besides I've read thousands of romantic novels and it all says the same. Two people do it because they love each other."

"Romantic novels? Hn. And I was wondering why you're still single at your age. No wonder. What you read in books are different than what you experience in reality. They're fiction, Sakura. F-i-c-t-i-o-n." He faced away from me.

"No! I still believe in what those romantic novels say. People write what they experience. They have an inkling of what it is. That's the reason why they are able to write fiction. It came from something concrete, something they've experienced and turned it into ideal situations." I told him and smiled proudly. "Someday, I'll find that person whom I love with all my heart and give him my all. Everything. And I'll definitely have the best round of sex because of that."

Sasuke-kun turned his mesmerizing onyx eyes on me, boring in my soul.

"W-What? That's what I've heard and read. It's not like we share the same opinion, right?" I let out a shaky laugh.

He continue to stare at me. Not at all fazed by my explanation. He seemed to look deep down my soul and see if what I'm saying is true (Not that his face showed it). His expression is blank but that didn't make him any less handsome.

His intense gaze made my insides swirl and my heart beat a thousand times faster. My hands are shaking, my palms are sweaty and my throat went dry. Even if we're sitting, I know I couldn't stand because my knees feels lke jelly.

Then a realization hit me.

I blinked.

I've read this kind of reaction.

In a novel.

A romance novel, to be exact.

This is what the woman in the story always feel when the protagonist is near her.

**_Oh. My. Gosh._**

_I'm in love with Uchiha Sasuke._

* * *

><p>End of Chapter 8<p>

* * *

><p>Author's note:<p>

Well, how is it?

Boo hoo, cliff hanger.

Don't worry, it's Sasuke's realization next!:)

Btw, I'm working on a new SasuSaku oneshot entitled, "After Morning Love" and I'm having fun writing it so... wait for it! Hihihi!

See you guys next time! xoxo

_Review. Favorite. Follow._


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